Holding On
by ObsessiveOne
Summary: MT/M T/P G/B When Mirai Trunks shows up from the future, hearts collide, people catch amnesia, parents go out of town...Marron, Pan, and Bra learn how much can change when you fall in love.
1. 'ever since she met Jeremy she's been so...

School seemed to last extra long that day. It was the last week of school and teachers were giving end-of-course final exams. Just the thought of spending two hours per class sent waves of dread and boredom through the students' spines.

All the students were finished and staring at the clock as if they had control over time. They were willing the hands to move just a little bit faster. When the second hand finally reached the large 12 half the students were already out the door.

Everyone fled the room in anticipation of leaving the school and spending a weekend full of sleep and fun, with the plans to study for exams shoved in the back of their minds.

"I thought that class would never end," groaned a petite senior with aqua hair. She glanced at her friend and smiled.

"Pan, want to get ice-cream?" she asked…just maybe they could convince their "chauffeur" to take them for a treat. She chuckled to herself as she thought of how mad Marron would be if she heard her, she was actually doing Bra and Pan a great favor by taking them home. Dende forbid they actually ride the school bus!

The girl with black hair smiled eagerly and gave a quick "why not?" before sprinting down the hall towards the double doors. "We can't stay out too late though. I have another date tonight," she called over her shoulder.

"Hey, wait up!" Bra sped up her pace and caught up to her friend. They exited the large building marked "Orange Star High school" and made their way to the dark convertible parked precariously on the sidewalk out front.

Pan hopped into the back seat with out bothering to open the door. While Bra was climbing in to the front passenger seat Pan leaned forward and switched the radio station, turning to smile softly to their blonde driver.

Bra groaned in aggravation, "Geez, you stay out for five minutes past curfew and your mom grounds you from driving." She turned to Marron in the drivers' seat who gave her a sympathetic smile.

"Your mom can't keep you grounded too long right? You turn 17 in a week."

Bra leaned forward and hit her head against the dashboard.

Marron turned back towards a giggling Pan.

"Well, even though the city won't give her a curfew when she turns 17, her mom said that she will still be grounded from staying out past 10:00 until she, and I quote 'Learns how to obey authority and not abuse privileges'." Pam mimicked Bra's mothers' voice.

Marron sighed, "Why didn't you drive Pan?"

"Well, I have a worse reason than Bra. My father doesn't think that I'm 'mature enough' to drive. He said that when I go to college, I can get a drivers license."

Both girls in the front seat felt immediate sympathy for Pan. Bra didn't have to go through that problem because she had her father wrapped around her finger…her mother was a different story.

They continued to drive down the street and finally got away from the school traffic. They convinced Marron to take them out for ice cream and in order to get to a TCBY they entered the highway towards the city.

Pan looked up suddenly. "Did you feel that?"

Bra looked back towards Pan, wondering if it was raining. She looked up towards the sky and was relieved to know that there were no clouds in the sky and her hair wouldn't be ruined in the rain. "Feel what?"

"It felt like a Ki just appeared out of no where. It's huge! Marron? Take this exit." Pan commanded and looked around to see if she could see some sort of disaster sight or smoke. As much as she hated the idea of a new threat she did kind of crave a fight at the moment.

Sighing Marron decided not to argue with Pan and switched on her blinker briefly before cutting off 4 lanes of traffic to take the exit.

The two passengers were rammed into the side of the car with the sharp turn and gave Marron an accusing look.

"Gee, and my father thinks that I'd be a bad driver!" spoke a sarcastic Pan. Marron shrugged her shoulders seeing nothing wrong with her spur of the moment change of directions. It was Pan, after all, who waited to tell her to take the exit when they were right beside it!

Bra searched her memory for what little she knew about Ki's and tentatively reached her mind out in the direction they were heading. Indeed Pan was correct; there was something definitely strong out there. Then a moment later the Ki seemed to almost disappear.

Marron stopped the car at the top of the hill. They exited and looked around, although from their position they could see nothing strange or unusual in the sloping countryside. There was a tree….and another tree…and a hole…and a strange metal object…and a…wait!

Pan was the first to notice something at the bottom of the hill on the other side of the road. Without calling for her friends she started to run towards the mysterious object.

Propelled downhill while running quickly, she dodged several holes and rocks, hoping desperately that she wouldn't trip and land on her face. She stopped running about 5 feet from the object. It was a metal machine standing on four legs with a pair of boots visible from the opposite side. She started to walk around when all of the sudden the object disappeared.

Pan looked up at a man in shock. The mysterious man slipped his capsuled time machine in a pocket and stared in surprise at the girl in front of him.

'I can't believe this. He looks exactly like…' Pan's eyes ran over the strange man whom looked almost exactly like Trunks…almost exactly like her best friends brother…almost exactly like… Neither said a word as they continued to stare at each other. If Pan had not been so shocked, she would have recognized his smug expression when he caught her eyes roving appreciatively up and down his body.

Right when the man was about to introduce himself Bra and Marron had caught up to them and stood beside Pan. They noticed that she was staring rather attentively, but decided to make fun of her obvious attention to the stranger in private. Pan would seriously hurt them if they embarrassed her in front of a stranger

Bra walked up to the man and circled him. "Well, you look like my brother...sort of. But I know you can't be Trunks. You have bigger muscles, longer hair, and a much more rugged sense of style."

The man turned around to face Bra at the mention of the name. "What did you say your brothers name was?"

Bra walked back to her friends and looked at the man. "My brothers name is Trunks. Now will you tell me who you are? And what you are doing here?"

"My name's Trunks. Trunks Vegeta Briefs."

Marron and Bra stepped backwards…just what they needed, a look-a-like Trunks fan who had gotten plastic surgery or something…but how did that explain the huge power they sensed from him!

Pan stayed still. "Trunks? Oh! I know! You must be Mirai Trunks right? From the future? My dad told me about how you came back and helped them fight against the androids and Cell."

Mirai Trunks nodded his head but kept his stern expression. "Who's your father?"

With a smile Pan replied "Gohan" and watched as Trunks mouth fell open in shock

"Gohan has a kid? How old are you? What year is this? Oh I hope I went back in time far enough." Mirai Trunks lost his stern composure and it was replaced with shock and confusion.

Bra and Marron finally realized what was going on and smiled. Bra gave her future brother a hug, which he returned warily. Well what would you do if someone said you looked like their sibling and hugged you? "Why don't we explain everything to you in the car. We can drive you to Capsule Corps."

Mirai Trunks just nodded his head slowly, as if thinking it over and followed the girls to the car. He was in a complete state of shock. Wasn't he just supposed to end up back in the time when he left after Cell died? Back to when he knew everyone? What happened?

He sat in the back seat with Pan who was busy explaining everything.

"Ok, after you left to the future #18 returned and ended up marrying Krillin. They had a daughter named Marron. Marron is now 19 years old."

Pan gestured to the blonde driver who waved at Trunks through the rearview mirror.

"Then Goku returned and had a second son named Goten, who is my Uncle and Trunks' best friend."

"My father met a girl named Videl Satan, and they got married. I'm their daughter, Pan, and I am 17 years old." Pan smiled sweetly as if waiting for him to say something and then pouted. She returned to her explanation.

"Then your parents, after a few years, had a daughter named Bra. So I suppose she's sort of your sister."

Bra turned around and smiled. "Nice to meet you Mirai Brother. We're pulling up to Capsule Corps now. My bet is that Daddy is in the Gravity room, Mom's in her lab, and Trunks is either in his office or he is off somewhere ditching work."

Mirai Trunks just nodded his head and tried to ignore the pain which swarmed his head at the mention of his parents.

The car was parked and the 4-demi Saiyans stepped out. "I'm guessing you would prefer us to all be in one room so you only have to explain your story of why you're here once. Right?"

Mirai Trunks just looked at his sister and nodded his head numbly. He turned and walked towards the house with out saying another word.

"Is it just me or does that guy seem very quiet?" Asked Marron.

"I wonder what happened. He seems so depressed," said Pan.

"All he does is nod. He barely speaks. I think I like him better than my brother already!"

When they entered the house they found that the room was full. Marron's, Pans, and Bra's relatives were all sitting around the living room.

"What are all of you doing here?" asked Marron. The three girls were very confused and looked at Mirai Trunks who just leaned against the wall with a smirk on his face.

"We felt a huge Ki, and when we felt the three of you go near it we figured that we should wait here to find out what happened when you came back," replied Marron's mother when no one else said anything.

Pan stood shocked and then turned to her father. "And if it was an enemy and we all ended up dead? Then would you just sit here?"

Gohan smiled, "I knew it was Mirai Trunks so I doubted that you were in danger."

Pan pouted and then leaned against the wall like Mirai Trunks and Bra were now doing.

When everyone looked at Mirai Trunks they weren't quite sure what to say or do. Trunks was confused to see a mirror image of him, and Goten was wondering why there were two of his best friends. Bulma finally felt the curiosity reach its peak and asked the question on everyone's minds.

"So, what are you doing here?"

Mirai Trunk's smirk vanished and he drew in a breath. "My world was destroyed, I had no where else to go."

Everyone looked surprised and then Chichi spoke up. "Don't you dare tell me there is another threat! I do not want the people I love going off to train just to get killed by some mad man."

"Well, a threat did destroy my world, but it's not exactly one that you can fight. You see there was a plague and everyone died in my time line, except for me. Apparently it didn't affect the Saiyan blood so I, being the only Saiyan, was the lone survivor. This was the only place left for me to go. Not to mention that my mother and I weren't sure if the disease would hit this time line so she gave me her research and notes on the vaccine and cure she had been working on which she didn't complete in time. I'm supposed to give it to you."

Mirai Trunks held out a few capsules and put them into Bulma's hands.

"So you had to watch everyone die and you knew that there was nothing you could do about it?" asked a shocked Bra.

Immediately a hand, belonging to Pan, hit her on the back of the head. "Bra, don't make him think about it!"

Mirai Trunks turned his attention back to his mother who spoke up quickly. "Well, then it looks like your going to be living here," she said with a smile. "Why don't we go find you a room?"

She walked him up the stairs and everyone else took the hint to disperse. The last thing they wanted was to ask too many questions and suffocate him.

Pan, Marron, Bra, Goten, and Trunks were left in the living room alone. The three girls were still leaning against the wall while Goten and Trunks were facing them while leaning against the back of the couch.

Trunks was stunned that there was now someone who looked exactly like him. Being the president of Capsule Corp, 25 years old, a big ladies man, and constantly in the public eye, he couldn't help but wonder how extremely difficult it would be to explain the sudden appearance of a 5-year younger twin.

He suddenly heard the familiar sound of giggling girls and looked up to see his sister, crush, and friend, all in a circle giggling and whispering.

"What's so funny?" asked Goten. Bra started to open her mouth but Marron slapped her hand over it and Pan hit the back of her head. "Nothing...Nothing at all!"

"Really?" asked a suspicious Trunks, hoping that a certain girl was finally noticing him in another way.

Bra shook her head 'no' knowing that it was better to side with her friends then to confess about what they were talking about.

"Then why are Pan and Marron blushing?" Asked Goten.

Pan smiled innocently "Oh well I was just telling them about my last date with Jeremy..."

Both the boys groaned and decided not to ask. Every time they did they usually heard Bra and Marron whine about how adorable Jeremy and Pan were together in baby voices.

In truth Pan and Marron were actually just making an interesting comment on how hot the new Mirai Trunks is.

"How am I going to explain to the press about the mysterious appearance of a 20 year old me?"

"He's 20" asked a surprised Pan.

"He didn't say how hold he was, I was just making a guess," commented Trunks.

"Why don't you ask him how old he is tomorrow? He hasn't slept in two weeks so he went ahead and fell asleep the moment he saw a bed." a voice rose behind them.

Bulma walked down the stairs and passed the children. "Well, it's 6:00 so I'm going to make dinner and then go over these notes on the plague Mirai me wrote out."…hmmm, Bulma thought, that sounds pretty weird…'Mirai me'…

"Six o'clock?" asked Pan. "Eek."

They all watched amusedly as she scrambled out of the room quickly. "She probably has a date."

"It's funny, she's never been big for dating and such, but ever since she met Jeremy she's been so happy all the time." said Goten.

Marron went ahead and left for home and so did Goten.

Next Chapter.

What does Bulma discover about this disease? How did Pans date go? (Warning, not very good) Who is Trunks' crush? And who will be paired with whom?

Here are the ages (I know it doesn't follow their ages in GT or anything but just deal with it k?'

Trunks: 25 president of Capsule Corp.  
Mirai Trunks: 21 boy from the future  
Pan: 17 senior in High school  
Bra: 16 Senior in High school, almost 17.  
Marron: 20 works at Capsule Corp.  
Goten: 24 uhhh…what should Goten do for a living?

Thanks, and I know this may seem like a plot used before, but trust me it will get different later. I just couldn't think of another beginning. Please review and tell me what you think!


	2. ''It's probably a better idea to keep th...

In the previous chapter Mirai Trunks shows up and gives shocking news about a threatening plague that has destroyed his world.   
  
Review please and you can also e-mail me @ Boredwriter@hotmail.com!!!!  
  
Oh yeah, ***** stands for flashback.  
  
That night:  
  
Capsule Corp.  
  
"Is he still asleep?" asked Bra as they all sat around the dinner table.  
  
"Yeah. Should we let him rest or wake him up for food?" asked Bulma.  
  
The room turned quiet as they thought it over. If he hadn't slept in two weeks then he would want his rest, but at the same time they probably shouldn't make him go that long with out eating, he was Vegeta's son after all, even if it was Vegeta from an alternate reality. "Oh well, I'll be up all night working on that information so if he gets up and is hungry I'll be awake."  
  
The Briefs family finished eating and left the dinner table. Vegeta went back outside for one last quick work out before he went to sleep and Trunks went out to Kami knows where, while Bra was stuck staying home since she was grounded.  
  
Bulma finally sat down at the computer and began to go over 'her' notes on this plague that Mirai Trunks had briefly talked about.  
  
"Let's see...," she mumbled, talking to herself because it was an easier way to sort through her thoughts. She flipped through a couple of pages and skimmed through the side notes to find out about the symptoms of the disease first.   
  
"Well, it appears to affect the memory but not personality of people. According to this, subject A was married with 2 kids and always very organized, but when he contracted the disease he could not remember his wife or children, and actually joined the circus to become a trapeze artist? And yet everyone still said he was obsessed with organization and still had the same attitude."  
  
She looked at more of the pages in disbelieve when she noticed that the others were just the same way.   
  
"After a certain period of time, based on height, weight, and previous health, other parts of the brain become affected. Not only do they believe that they are someone else but they eventually start to lose control. It says here that half the population died from just killing each other. The other half apparently died when the chemicals in their brain caused their eating process to slow down until they stopped eating all together and eventually died from lack of nourishment or they starved to death."  
  
Bulma could only imagine the insanity that those who weren't conflicted with the disease at first faced. She couldn't begin to think of how it would feel to lose her family to such a terrible fate.  
  
Bulma finally got to the part with her future self's notes on the cure she had been working on. "Why did she just stop?" she asked herself.  
  
"She was losing hope on a cure. So she began to work on a vaccine so this world wouldn't have to face the terror if it was inflicted too." replied a voice behind her.  
  
She turned around in her wheely chair just enough to see her 'son' with long hair. "Why didn't she keep working on the cure though? Then she could have made a vaccine. Was there that little hope?"  
  
Trunks sighed. "The disease can work backwards as well. For some people it would affect their eating and then their memory. My mother had contracted the disease, which is spread by a chemical through touch. The disease spread so quickly because it invaded the water supply as well as most of the currency. She contracted it and wouldn't eat… I suppose she lost hope and knew that she wouldn't have enough time to work on a cure. She almost completed the vaccine too."  
  
Trunks entered another world and Bulma could see his gaze as it unfocussed as if he was in a trance.  
  
Trunks was remembering the time before he left. His mother was weighing about 89 pounds and looking in very poor condition. He had tried as hard as he could but was unable to help her.   
  
**********************************************************************************  
After she had stayed up all night in the lab, which she had locked him out of, she opened the door and found him sitting in the living room. She just walked up to him and shoved several objects into his hands roughly.  
  
"I want you to go back in to time Trunks. I will know what to do in that world. There's no hope left here, but they can live Trunks. And so can you. Go...please."   
  
Her shaking hands gave him the objects and he stood firm. "I'm not going to leave you alone mother. There has to be something, something we missed. There just has to be a way to fix this."  
  
"Please, just go." Bulma collapsed against her son. "Nooo!" He screamed.  
  
Her breathing had stopped and it was obvious that she had died. That day he had to bury his mother in a grave, and mark a tombstone for her…  
***********************************************************************************  
  
Trunks felt something pull him back to reality with a sudden jerk. Looking up through the hair that fell in his face he stared at a different version of his mother. A version, which had less wrinkles from worrying and brighter skin from less crying.   
  
"Trunks, I know that I can never replace your mother. And I know that we can never replace your world. But I want you to know that we are all here for you and you will always have a home here. Why don't you go get some dinner? My mom probably saw you get up and finishing a meal for you right now."  
  
Mirai Trunks didn't know how to respond so he just nodded his head and walked reluctantly out of the room.  
  
Somewhere in a car after Pan and Jeremy's date...  
  
"I'm glad you agree with me," said Pan.  
  
"Oh good, I was going to tell you tonight but I always thought of you as a friend and I didn't want to hurt you." said Jeremy who was sighing with relief.  
  
"Well, not everything's meant to work out right? I guess we got along so well because we're just good friends, not because of any romantic thing."  
  
"So we're friends?" asked Jeremy hopefully.  
  
"Yes, we're friends."  
  
Pan was so extremely happy. She had always enjoyed her time with Jeremy, but not so much because it was a date. He was just so easy to talk to.   
  
"So...Got another girl?" she asked slyly. She felt the car swerve just a little and laughed at Jeremy's expression.  
  
"Oh come on Jere, we're friend I don't care. So come on! Tell me about her!"  
  
"Uh well, you see...Her name is Sarah."  
  
"Sarah Deleon? Oh I know her. She's so sweet."  
  
Jeremy relaxed and fell into an easy conversation with his friend. "She is isn't she? And she is so cute too. The only reason I haven't asked her out yet it cause of us."  
  
"Well that's not stopping you now. Get over your whole shyness and ask her out tomorrow. I know for a fact that she has a crush on you so she should say yes."  
  
"I hope so. So, is there anyone special for you?" he asked, mocking the sly tone she used on him previously.  
  
Pan just blushed and looked down towards her sandals. "Well sort of. I'm not really sure though, I've kind of got mixed feelings about it."  
  
"Well, come on...details details..."  
  
Pan smiled. "Well, he has purple hair, he's real strong and he just has that whole air of cuteness and sweetness around him. His name's Trunks."   
  
"He sounds great. Does he share any feelings?"  
  
Pan sighed lightly "I doubt it."  
  
"You're just being hard on yourself. Get to know the guy better and spend time with him so he knows you. I guarantee that any guy would be crazy not to fall for you. Kami knows that I'm probably crazy."  
  
Pan smiled and noticed that they had pulled up into her drive way.  
  
"Well I should go inside. I'll see you at school on Monday ok? Call me!" She leaned over and gave him a peck on the cheek before ruffling his hair. "And don't forget to talk to Sarah ok? Promise me you will. I want you to be happy."  
  
Jeremy smiled shyly "I don't know. I just feel so shy around her. I tell you what, I will talk to her if you talk to this guy of yours ok?"  
  
Pan considered the proposal. "Ok, I guess I can at least get to know him better right?"  
  
"That a girl." Jeremy ruffled her hair too and smiled when she wrinkled her nose. She gave a quick "See yah later." Before opening the door to the car.  
  
She proceeded to exit the car and ran up her walkway happy.  
  
When she entered the house and watched him drive away she started to run through the living room until she reached the stairs and froze. She turned around and noticed her parents trying to sneak out of the room unnoticed.  
  
"Waiting up for me?" she asked giggling.  
  
"Uh, no, we just couldn't sleep. So you seem happy. How'd the date go?" she asked, trying to change the subject  
  
"Oh we broke up. We're just friends now. I'll see you two in the morning" She continued to run up the stairs towards her room.  
  
"I guess we can ask her why she's so happy about breaking up with a guy, in the morning?" asked Gohan.  
  
Videl just stood there. The two dumb struck parents walked back to there rooms.  
  
Back at Capsule Corp.  
  
Bulma was still in her lab just setting things up. According to the notes the disease wouldn't appear for another year, but she decided to work on the vaccine quickly in case it would take too long. Besides, it being another universe the bacteria already present here may be adapting and mutating already. Tonight she was just organizing everything. She'd start the actual work tomorrow.  
  
She picked up the folder of papers that her future son had given her and straightened them up when a small paper glided from the pile onto the floor.  
  
Sighing she bent down to pick it up. She immediately recognized the handwriting and noticed that it was addressed to her. 'That's strange' she thought absentmindedly. 'Why wasn't this stapled to the rest of the papers?'  
  
She began to read the small intimate note before she dropped it to the floor and turned around to flip through the papers. 'Oh gosh, how can this be happening now? Life just isn't fair. Please tell me I can fix this.'  
  
She bent back down and picked up the note again. 'It's probably a better idea to keep this to myself for now.' she thought carefully. 'I don't want everyone to panic. I just have to speed up this potion project. I guess this means I'll be pulling a ton of all nighters, starting with tonight.'  
  
  
  
AN: Ok everyone I know the chapter was short but I needed a filler chapter before I could start the next one. In the next chapter bad news strikes. Who is responsible for a phone call, which creates a huge problem in the Son household? What does Bulma discover? How does daily life go?  
  
Find out on the next chapter of Holding on.  
  
  
Oh, and I have some family visiting for the week, so I'll try and get another chapter out but it might be a while. 


	3. 'If only this was real.'

Hey everyone Thanks for all the reviews. I just want to say that I know for a fact what the couples are going to be. I'm sorry it took so long for this chapter; we had some relatives visit from out of town so I couldn't use the computer for a week.  
  
Thanks for the reviews, and if a whole lot of people don't like the couples I chose, then at least give the story a chance.   
  
  
  
Morning at the Briefs...  
Bra woke up early in the morning and pulled herself out of bed. It was Saturday and that meant she would drag her friends to the mall. Just the thought made her sleepy face brighten with a huge smile.  
  
She got out of bed and pulled her hair back before she went running down the stairs. She took a turn and entered the kitchen where her family was sitting around the table. Her father, mother, Trunks, Trunks...wait a second...  
  
Her sight froze at the sight of two Trunks and she blinked a couple times. "Oh great, I have 2 brothers now. You better not be as annoying as the other one," she said sarcastically while staring at the younger Trunks.  
  
She turned around when she heard her mother laughing behind her. After they were all sitting down and eating Bulma stood up and started walking to her lab. "I've got some more work to work on, Bra? Are you going to the mall today?"  
  
Bra looked up and smiled, "Only if I can drag Marron out of bed to drive us, and shove Pan out of bed to come too."  
  
Her mother smiled a little bit, the lack of sleep obvious in her eyes. "Do you think you can take Mirai Trunks too? He needs to get some clothing since he only brought what he had on him."  
  
Bra turned to look at her 'future' brother and then sighed. "Yeah I guess, but won't he be kind of bored shopping with 3 girls?"  
  
Trunks (GT Trunks) looked up from the table and smirked. "If he's anything like me he'd love the idea of being surrounded by your friends."  
  
Vegeta looked up slightly annoyed at his son. 'He better pick a strong mate, not some wimpy female who knows nothing about fighting' he thought.  
  
Giggling, Bra interrogated her brother slightly, "and which of my friends would you prefer?" she asked, noting that Trunks immediately slipped out of reality and undoubtedly in a day dream, a soft pink tinting the bridge of his nose as he blushed.  
  
"Oh, well I would love to spend the whole day with....Woah, I'm late for work." he got up blushing a little. "And Bra? Goten will probably go to the mall with all of you if the other me would prefer not to be surrounded by the three of you only."  
  
"Oh good!" she said excitedly which earned a smirk from her brother and questioning looks from her mother and father ".... He has such good fashion sense and that way we wouldn't have to hang around them the whole time, I'm going to go call Marron and Pan."  
  
  
Bra ran out of the room quickly and got on the phone.  
  
Morning at Marron's...  
  
After waking up by the annoying ring from the phone and agreeing to drive Bra and others to the mall Marron ate breakfast.  
  
"Mom? How should I act around Mirai Trunks?" she asked after taking a sip of orange juice.  
  
"I don't know...why don't you just act normal?"  
  
Marron just stared at her mother before leaning across the table and looking into her eyes, "I don't know, lets see...in his world my mother destroyed everything including all of his family and friends!!!"  
  
"Yes, that would probably be a problem," said 18 softly. "But he shouldn't judge you by that. Don't worry about it. Besides Pan and Bra will be there too so you don't have anything to worry about."  
  
Marron just sighed and walked out the door. 'I'll pick up Pan first.' she thought as she climbed into the car.  
  
Morning at Pan's house....  
  
Waking up by the phone ring just as Marron had, Pan agreed to go to the mall only because it would give her a chance to find out more about this Mirai Trunks. Of course she didn't tell Bra that.   
  
"Morning Mom, Hey dad!" Pan entered the kitchen and stared at the large mass of food on the table with a huge smile.  
  
"Good morning. Where are you going today?" Gohan asked eyeing the fact that Pan was actually dressed and awake before noon…and it was a weekend  
  
"Oh, Bra is dragging me and Marron to the mall with her. Goten is going too. We're supposed to be going to help Mirai Trunks get clothes and stuff." She said between bites.  
  
Gohan was about to object but he realized that he wouldn't be able to if she said that Goten was going too. 'I wonder how Mirai Trunks is doing.'   
  
Gohan and Videl both turned around when they heard the phone ring and Pan looked out the door to see Marron's car. She took the opportunity to dart out of the house.  
  
"Thank Dende for phone calls! I don't think my dad would have let me come if the phone didn't ring."  
She adjusted the radio and slid on some sunglasses.  
  
"Why not?" asked Marron as she sped up in the direction of Capsule Corp.  
  
"I don't know. I don't think he likes the idea of me hanging out with the other Trunks. He is way too overprotective sometimes."  
  
Marron giggle and they both started to sing to the radio until they reached Capsule Corp.   
  
They both walked up to the house and into the kitchen, knowing full well that that would be where the other people would be. Sure enough they walked in to find Bra smacking her brother over the head and the other Trunks leaning against the wall.  
  
"Where's my Uncle?" asked Pan who sat down beside Trunks and reached across the table for a piece of toast.  
  
"He is going to fly over here after he gets away from Chichi." said Trunks who tore off half of the toast that Pan grabbed and began to eat it.  
  
Pan smacked Trunks over the head. "Don't steal my food."  
  
"Your food? It's my house so it's my food!" he said with a smirk.   
  
At that moment Goten flew into the kitchen and landed next to the other Trunks. "Hey, is everyone ready to go?"  
  
They all grumbled and made their way out of the kitchen and outside. Mirai Trunks stopped at the sight of the car. "Why don't we just fly to the mall?" he asked.  
  
Pan put her hand to her head and Goten leaned against the car muttering, "here we go again" under his, breath.  
  
"Well you see...Bra can't fly!!!" laughed Trunks who dodged a simple punch from Bra.   
  
"And what's wrong with not being able to fly?" asked Marron who powered up slightly behind Trunks.  
  
"Well nothing really, it's just that Bra tried to learn how to fly but she can't. And Pan is such a bad teacher!"  
  
While Pan started to chase Trunks across the yard Marron couldn't help but laugh. Mirai Trunks watched as his 'sister' sulked. "I just never bothered to learn how to fly. I want to fly though but my dad and brother won't teach me and Pan isn't a very good teacher."  
  
"I'm not a good teacher? If you ask me you just aren't a good student." said Pan as she ran past them hot on Trunks path.  
  
Bra got into the back as well as Mirai Trunk. Goten sat in the front and Marron also climbed into the car. They all waited patiently for Pan and Trunks to stop their little game of chase.  
  
"Are they always like this?" asked Mirai Trunks in disbelief as he watched Trunks trip and then Pan trip over him.  
  
Goten chuckled "Yeah, they just never know when to stop flirting." Bra giggled too and Mirai Trunks nodded his head.   
  
"Marron? Should we just leave with out them?" Asked Bra.  
  
Within a few minutes Pan was back in the back of the car. Trunks squeezed into the back beside his sister. "Oh great it's a Trunks sandwich," complained Pan when she and Bra were squished closer because there were 4 people in the back.  
  
"I thought you had work and couldn't go to the mall?" asked Pan looking over at Trunks. 'Please don't let me sound to curious.'  
  
Trunks just smiled "I'm ditching work."   
  
Marron took a glance in her rear view mirror to change lanes and saw Mirai Trunks staring straight at her before he diverted his eyes.  
  
They initially split up at the mall to get more shopping done.   
  
Back at the Sons.........  
  
Videl finished the conversation and set the phone back down before turning to her husband with teary eyes. "It's...It's...not fair"   
  
Gohan pulled his wife into a soft embrace. "What happened?"   
  
Pulling back slightly and staring into her husband's eyes she gathered the courage to speak. "Jeremy, who was dating Pan, last night he. (Sob)...he. (Sob)...his car was found this morning a couple miles from here. He was hit by a drunk driver at an intersection. He died."  
  
Stunned, Gohan comforted his wife again. 'Oh Kami, how is Pan going to take this? How are we supposed to tell her?"  
  
Somewhere in Satan city...........  
  
After a vigorous day of shopping they met again at Marrons' car. The guys were there first and they were all sitting in the back. When the girls arrived Trunks eyes ran over Pan and he smiled as he jumped out of the car and walked up to her.  
  
"Want some help?" he asked and grabbed 3 of the 4 bags she was carrying. "Thanks, that will teach me to buy a ton of heavy stuff in the first store we go in to so I have go carry them around for hours."  
  
He put the packages in the back and then Marron handed him hers. He ended up fitting all of the packages into the trunk of the car. By the time he closed the back and walked to the door he observed his friends.  
  
Marron was sitting in the front situating her hair and sunglasses. Mirai Trunks was in the back with a scowl on his face. 'Why does he hate Marron?' he thought. They all had noticed the intense hatred between him and her. They were very tense around each other.  
  
Bra was sitting in the front facing the back seat and flirting with Goten. She playfully giggled and punched him, laughing more as he caught her hand and pulled it to his mouth with a gentle kiss. It was obvious that the two liked each other, but it would take a lot to get them to admit it to each other.  
  
Trunks sat in the car and waved at Marron to start driving. He smiled at Pan. "What did you buy?"  
  
She smiled shyly, "Just some clothes, cd's, and a weight set that my mom wanted."  
  
"That's cool. What are you doing later?" he asked, brushing his hand through his wind blown hair.  
  
"I was hoping to spar, but I need a partner." she said hopefully and nudged him in the side.   
  
"Ooo would Jeremy like that?" he asked in a teasing voice.  
  
Pan just looked at him with a smile that slowly faded and she leaned back in the seat. "We broke up."  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry." he said with a sympathetic smile. His arm draped over her shoulder and held her protectively.  
  
She smiled "It's ok. It was mutual, and besides we're still good friends." She leaned towards him and rested her head on his shoulder.  
  
He smelled the sweet scent of her hair and relished in being close to her. 'If only this was real.' He thought sadly, and made no attempt to remove his arm.  
  
  
  
Hey everyone, I'm sorry it's so short. I know I focused a lot on the T/P aspect in this chapter, but the next chapter will be more of a Mt/M. I hope you're ready for a few plot twists, and things that you won't expect. Well, review and tell me whatcha think...  
  
Next Chapter…  
  
How is Bulma's work on the vaccine working? Who is going to be fighting? Why is Bulma so worried? What happens when Pan finds out that her ex boyfriend is dead? Find out in the next chapter of 'Holding on'  
  
Oh yeah, review! 


	4. 'It's ok honey. She's going towards Cap...

When they arrived at Capsule Corps. Trunks and Pan reluctantly separated from their comforting closeness in order to exit the car. Luckily for them, no one else in the car seemed to notice how close they had been sitting.  
  
"You want to spar Trunks?" Pan asked with a smile and a hint in her eyes that meant she was craving a work out. 'Anything to be close to you Trunks. Why do you have to see me as a child?' she thought sadly, hoping her eyes didn't reflect how desperate she was to be near him.  
  
He glanced at his watch and sighed, "I can't Pan. I ditched work to go to the mall, so I need to get to the office and finish that paperwork before my Mom finds out." 'Pan, I wish you knew how much I want to spend time with you.' He thought sadly, barely noticing how sad she looked before she covered her feelings with a fake smile.  
  
Pan nodded her head sadly and turned to the other Trunks. "Hey Mirai Trunks, do you want to go spar?" 'I might as well get a work out. Besides, I want to know more about this Mirai Trunks.' She thought eagerly.  
  
Mirai Trunks just shrugged his shoulders and said "sure."  
  
The two of them went off towards the gravity room, leaving a jealous Trunks, confused Bra, hungry Goten, and Marron, who wasn't exactly sure how she felt.  
  
Marron was slightly annoyed at the attitude Mirai Trunks held around her. He seemed completely annoyed at her existence, and ignored her whenever possible. The only things he ever said to her at the mall were insults or commands. 'Well, if you want to hate me, then I'll hate you.' She thought and turned around.  
  
"Yeah, I need to get back to work too. I'll see you guys later!" said Marron in a bitter tone.  
  
Marron started to walk off and Trunks followed, leaving Bra and Goten alone.  
  
"What is it between you and the other Trunks?" asked Trunks. Although he knew the answer, he couldn't make sense about how his sweet friend could sound so angry.  
  
Marron sighed and continued to walk. "I don't know. I think it has something to do with my mother. But if he is unwilling to be kind, then I don't see why I should be." she defended herself.  
  
Marron walked into the elevator followed by Trunks, who turned her around. "Don't go talking like that, you aren't being yourself. I'm sure that if you are as kind to him as you are to every one else then he'll come around."   
  
"How can I treat him kindly when he thinks that I'm the scum of the earth with out any reason. He doesn't even know me and he is unable to be at least civil around me. I am beginning to doubt that he has the ability to be kind."  
  
"He does remind me of my father so he may in fact not have many emotions."  
  
"Try none," sighed Marron, who left a confused Trunks alone in the elevator when she exited on her floor.  
  
'Those two act like my mom and dad, they pretend to hate each other. This could get interesting.' Thought Trunks as he left the elevator on his floor. He said "hello" to his secretary and then he walked into his office, 'Oh great, I'm trying to imagine my friend with an alternate me?'   
******************************************************************  
  
Left alone at the car Bra and Goten just stood in silence. "Well, I should get going..." started Goten.  
  
"Not so fast..." interrupted Bra.  
  
Goten turned back to face her with a sweet face. "Will you please help me carry these packages inside? My two idiot brothers and friends left them here expecting me to get them."  
  
Goten just smiled and walked behind the car to gather some bags. He walked alongside Bra into the house.  
  
"Thanks Goten. You're so much sweeter then all of them," beamed Bra who finally unloaded the heavy packages by dropping them onto the living room floor.  
  
Following Bra's example, Goten just let go of the bags too and watched the packages sprawl all over the floor.  
  
"It's no problem. I don't mind helping you." he smiled.  
  
Bra smiled back and then an idea formed in her head. Her smile faded and she sat down on the couch with a sigh.  
  
Goten watched this unexpected change in her attitude, not liking the depressed look that flowed across her features. "Bra, What's the matter?"  
  
Goten sat down beside her on the couch and tried to look into her eyes, but her head was down cast.  
  
She let her head raise just enough to stare him in the eyes. "I...It's just that.... I want to learn to fly, but my dad won't teach me because he's always training, Trunks won't teach me because he's the president and always at work, Pan is a bad teacher, and I don't know the other Trunks well enough to ask him."  
  
Nodding his head slowly Goten smiled. "Do you want me to teach you B-chan?"  
  
He blushed when he realized that he gave her such an affectionate nickname. He had only called her that in his dreams. But she didn't seem to mind.   
  
Bra just smiled and nodded her head, trying to contain her excitement, "Will you?" she asked hopefully, scooting to the edge of the seat and turning towards him with a huge smile.  
  
"Sure." he smiled, and she immediately tackled him, knocking the couch over.   
  
"Thank you, thank you, thank you" she mumbled, burying her head in his neck with her arms around him.  
  
He cautiously let his arms go around her. "When should we start?"  
  
********************************************************************************  
  
After a couple of minutes of sparring the two decided to just talk. Leaning against the wall Pan was finishing a long explanation, and M Trunks was standing, leaning against the control panel in the center of the room.  
  
"Did you have a girlfriend? Before you came here?" asked Pan, who just finished explaining her relationship with Jeremy to a curious future Trunks.  
  
Mirai Trunk coughed a little out of surprise; "No" Mirai Trunks shook his head. He knew the question would come up eventually, but he hated explaining his feelings to people. They never understood how he felt; he didn't even understand how he felt.  
  
Pan cocked an eyebrow. "Really? Why? And don't you dare tell me they didn't find you attractive. Every single girl here practically drools at Trunks' feet." she said, slightly angry.  
  
Mirai Trunks laughed. "No, it wasn't that. Girls drop at my feet too." he said slightly annoyed.  
  
Pan looked very suspicious for a minute. "Well, you're not...um...I wouldn't judge you or anything...but...Are....you....um......" Pan stuttered not exactly sure how to ask weather he was gay.  
  
"Whatever you're thinking, the answer is No." he said quickly.  
  
"Oh...ok It's just that you sounded annoyed when you said that girls drop at your feet." she said shyly.   
  
" Well, I just don't like it when girls only find me attractive. I like to think that there is more too me than strength, money, and looks"  
  
"That can't be the only reason you don't have a girlfriend though right? I mean there had to be someone who could see past all of that."  
  
"I just wasn't really good with relationships. I guess since I never knew my father, and my childhood was filled with fighting I just never learned how to act in a relationship. And when I came to the past my parents fought all the time, and my father didn't even seem to care about my mother."  
  
Pan sighed and leaned back on her hands. "I don't think they hate each other, you're father just isn't good at showing his feelings."  
  
"Yeah well, I must have gotten that from him. And girls don't really like that attitude."  
  
Pan smiled weakly "Well, why don't you tell them how you feel, and open up to your feelings like you're doing now?"  
  
Mirai Trunks just laughed. "I don't know. I never talked like this to anyone before...You're not going to tell anyone are you?" he asked suddenly suspicious.  
  
Pan just shook her head. "No. Anything that you and I tell each other stays in private. Ok?"  
  
He nodded his head and then smiled. "So...you said you and Jeremy broke up because you both had an interest in other people?"  
  
Pan just looked down and blushed. "Yeah well, I do sort of like someone. But he sees me more as a little sister."  
  
"Are you kidding me? I saw the way you and Trunks were flirting. I doubt he thinks of you as anything less than a wonderful person whom he happens to be in love with."  
  
"You think? Wait, how did you know I was talking about Trunks?"  
  
M Trunks just smiled, "I didn't, you just confirmed my suspicions." He said matter-of-factly.  
  
Pan's eyes widened in shock and she stood up immediately worried, "You...You're not going to tell anyone are you? I've taken great lengths not even to let Bra or Marron know that I have a crush on him. He doesn't even know. If he found out...If my parents found out...."  
  
M Trunks put his hands on her shoulders and shook her. "I'm not going to tell anyone, ok? We already agreed that this conversation was confidential."  
  
Sighing with relief Pan hugged him. "Thank you thank you thank you, now why don't we finish sparring?" she asked, and Mirai Trunks was suddenly scared about the mischevious look in her eyes.  
  
***********************************************************************************  
  
  
After about 2 more hours of fighting and talking, mostly talking, Mirai Trunks went back inside to get some rest. Pan followed him to grab a bite to eat before she went home.  
  
She walked into the kitchen and looked surprised to see no one cooking. She walked down the hall towards Bulma's lab, stopping near the door to the living room where she heard muffled voices.  
  
"So can we make it a secret? I don't want to tell anyone."  
  
"You mean make it a surprise? Sure."  
  
"Thanks Goten. So you'll be here tomorrow to pick me up?"  
  
"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow Bra."  
  
Pan walked quickly ahead and ducked into Bulma's lab. 'I wonder what that was about.' she thought with a smile. She was completely oblivious to the fact that they were talking about flying.  
  
Pan looked around and gasped. "Uhmmmm Bulma?" she asked slowly. The entire lab was a complete mess. There were papers strewn about, as well as test tubes, computer disks, and many other objects.  
  
"Over here Pan." Called a voice. Pan looked in the corner and saw Bulma with Marron.  
  
"Ow. Why do I have to be you're guinea pig?" asked Marron.  
  
"What's going on?" Pan asked.  
  
"Oh, I just need another blood sample. I have a vaccine made for humans already, but I need one specially made for Androids and Sayians. Why don't you stay Pan, I'll need a Saiyan blood sample."  
  
When there was no answer Bulma looked behind her and laughed. Papers were flying all over the place and the door was wide open.  
  
"She darted out of here quickly," noted Bulma.  
  
"I wish I thought of that," said Marron, feeling slightly dizzy when she looked down and saw the needle in her arm.  
  
************************************************************  
When Pan flew out of Capsule Corp grounds she went straight home, unaware about the news she was about to receive.  
  
When she reached her house she knew something was wrong immediately. Her parents were quiet, and hadn't even asked why she was home late.  
  
"Uhm Hi Mom, Hi dad." She said, walking into the kitchen and pouring a glass of water.  
  
"Hello Honey, how was your day?" asked Videl quietly.   
  
Gohan just leaned back in his seat and sighed. "Honey we need to talk."  
  
Pan knew something was wrong for sure now. She sat down at the table across from her parents leaving the water on the counter. "What's the matter?" she asked worried.  
  
Videl looked at Gohan quietly and began to speak, "Honey, some things happen, which we have no control over. And sometimes no matter how unfair something seems there is no escaping it. Gohan..."  
  
"What your mother is trying to say is that no matter how much we love someone, it doesn't mean that we can keep them here forever."  
  
Pan just sat there having absolutely no idea what her parents were talking about. "So you're saying that I can't control fate. What happened?"  
  
Gohan looked back at his wife as if urging her to tell Pan. "Honey, last night after Jeremy dropped you off, he drove home, but he didn't make it there."  
  
"What happened? Did he go to a friends house? If this is about him having another girlfriend or something, I told you we..."   
  
"Uh, no not exactly honey." Said Gohan. "You see when he was driving home he was hit by a drunk driver. They rushed him to a hospital but..."  
  
Again Pan interrupted out of worry "Is he ok? Oh my gosh, I'm going to go to the hospital to see him." She got up and got halfway out the door when her mothers hand found her shoulder.  
  
"Pan, he's not at the hospital. He...died."  
  
Pan didn't even bother to turn around she stopped in her tracks and held back a scream before shooting off into the sky blinded by tears.  
  
"Gohan?" whispered Videl watching her daughter fly off.  
  
"It's ok honey. She's going towards Capsule Corp."  
  
*****************************************************************************  
  
  
A/n: Ok everyone, I'm sorry it took so long. I know exactly where the story is going to go from here....hehehe..... and I know it wasn't the greatest way to tell Pan that Jeremy died, but when you think about it, how would you go about telling her? ok well stay tuned for the next chapter, and go ahead and write a review. 


	5. 'Hey, Goten. When do you want to meet?'

She flew quickly against the wind and the rain, which started to fall lightly after she left. Now the rain was practically pouring down in sheets that struck her face and burned her eyes. But she noticed none of this. All she coud do was dwell on thoughts running throuhg her head.  
  
"Dead? No no, he can't be dead can he? But he's my friend...It's just not fair. Why couldn't I have been hit? Why did it have to be him?"  
  
By the time she reached the window to Trunks office she was soaking wet, shivering, and crying in soft sobs.  
  
She opened the window and stepped into the 20th floor office. Blinded by the bright light and shivering from the cold air she blinked a few times before looking around.  
  
"Trunks?" she chocked out looking around the office. 'Where is he?'  
  
That's when she remembered that Trunks usually showered in his office before returning home because Bra was usually in the bathroom for hours and there would be no hot water left. Pan walked across the room sniffling and dripping water on the floor. When she reached the corner she came face to face with a closed door and the sound of running water.  
  
"Great, he's in the shower. He's as bad as his sister about that, and that means I'm going to have to wait hours," she sighed and turned around walking back towards the window.  
  
Her clothes were still dripping on the carpet as she walked over to the window and peered outside. Her eyes caught the first star she saw and in remembrance to an old nursery rhyme her eyes closed and she began to speak, "Starlight, star bright, first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight..." she kept her eyes closed and concentrated on a wish that she had on her mind.  
  
She sighed and opened her eyes, staring directly into the same star. "I'm counting on you star, please grant me my wish."  
  
"What did you wish for?" Pan turned around and saw Trunks standing there. No it wasn't th right Trunks, it was Mirai Trunks.  
  
Pan smiled despite her sadness, but it was obviously fake, "If I tell you, then it won't come true."  
  
Mirai just nodded, keeping the same emotionless expression on his face. "What's the matter?" he asked noting her red cheeks and and puffy eyes.  
  
"It's nothing big, really." she sniffed and shivered when he wiped a tear from her eyes.  
  
"It's obviously important to you because you are so upset. Come on tell me, we're friends aren't we?" he gave her a smile and urged her to sit down.  
  
Pan nodded and looked back out the window. She sat down on the windowsill and leaned against the wall quietly, just staring blankly at the stars.  
  
"Are you going to tell me what happened? It helps to vent, you shouldn't keep it to yourself" He asked quietly.  
  
'I wanted to talk to Trunks, he has a way of making me feel better, but maybe Mirai will understand better. After all Trunks has never known someone who died, but Mirai has lost a lot of people.' she thought, finally deciding to open up to Mirai.  
  
"You know my ex-boyfriend I told you about?"  
  
"You mean the guy you're good friends with? Yeah, what about him?"  
  
Pan looked down at her hands as if suddenly realizing how wonderful they were.  
  
"He, he's dead." she said quietly, feeling the tears coming back to her eyes and cursing herself when she couldn't will them away.  
  
Mirai Trunks felt his heart skip a beat. He wasn't expecting something that bad. The room fell back into silence and Pan wiped her eyes furiously trying to stop the tears.  
  
Mirai carefully searched his brain for the appropriate thing to do and say. He knew that the Saiyan pride was strong, and she wouldn't like the idea of crying in front of him. He looked back into his past to the times where someone close to him died and tried to remember what exactly comforted him, and what just plain agitated him.  
  
"I'm sorry," he said quietly, even though he knew that it wouldn't make much of a difference.  
  
Pan bit her bottom lip trying to hold back more tears. "It's ok, it's not YOUR fault."  
  
Mirai was startled at how she accented the word 'Your.' He wanted to ask what happened but decided against it. If she tried to explain she would probably break down crying. 'She probably blames herself for some reason.'  
  
"It's not your fault either you know." he said soothingly.  
  
"How would you know?" she snapped back angrily, but immediately felt regret when she saw his hurt look.  
  
She turned away from the window quickly and slipped her feet on the floor so that she was now facing the room.  
  
"I'm sorry," she murmured barely audibly.  
  
Mirai sat next to her on the windowsill. "You don't need to be sorry... but you do need to know that it isn't your fault."  
  
Pan sighed, "I know it isn't my fault on one level. But," Pan bit her lip but the tears flowed anyways "...there is still the part of me that hates myself for not staying in the car for 5 more minutes." She forced a sharp intake of breath so she could finish explaining before she broke down crying. " If I could have kept him there for 5 more minutes then he wouldn't have been there at that moment and he would be alive."  
  
Putting a comforting arm around her shoulder Mirai let her cry. He knew what she was going through by blaming herself; he used to do that all the time.  
  
"Pan...Pan listen to me." He waited for her to stop crying and watched her wipe tears away from her cheeks.  
  
"Pan, you shouldn't blame yourself for what happened. Believe me, it will tear you apart inside. Pan he may not be living on Earth anymore, but he is living in your heart and nobody and nothing can take him away."  
  
Pan nodded her head; trying to take his advice but not sure if she would be able too. She was still shivering and Mirai stood up, pulling her to her feet.  
  
"Let's find you some dry clothes before you get sick." he said tilting his head to the door.  
  
Pan nodded and walked with him out of the room.  
  
**************************************************************************** *****************************  
  
In Bulma's lab...  
  
"Great, I work for 48 hours straight, don't sleep, and as soon as I think that I have the vaccine finished, I find out that it only immunizes up to 78%. I need to make it 100% sure that no one will get sick. "  
  
She cleared the test tubes off the desk and grabbed her head. "What a time for a headache."  
  
Walking over to the computer she sat down and stared at the large lists of numbers and letters in the equation. With a sigh she started to search for the missing part in the equation. She didn't get far though, because soon she couldn't tell the 3's from the 5's, and everything else seemed to be moving across the screen. 'Why does everything always blur together when you need to concentrate the most?'  
  
'That's it; I need to find some way to wake up. I'll go fight with Vegeta. Arguing with him usually makes me wake up.'  
  
She walked out of the lab and stared at the coffee pot running in the kitchen. 'Ok, so maybe coffee is a better solution to keeping me awake'  
  
She poured her 3rd cup of coffee and walked back to the lab. 'Life is not easy for a genius.'  
  
  
  
**************************************************************************** ******************************  
  
After Pan had changed into some clothes she always kept at Capsule Corp in case she crashed there at night, they went to Mirai's room to talk some more.  
  
"Are you sure you're going to be ok?" he asked, still worried.  
  
"I don't know, but can we talk about something else?" She wanted to change the subject before she cried again.  
  
Mirai nodded his head and sat down on the couch.  
  
"Why were you in Trunks' office?" she asked, sitting on the couch as well.  
  
"I was sort of watching the storm and I saw you fly over there so I just let the curiosity get to me." He smiled "Why did you go to him to talk rather than your parents, or Bra?" he asked nudging her shoulder.  
  
Pan blushed unconsciously "I really don't know, I wasn't really thinking and I just flew there on accident."  
  
"You and I both know that it wasn't an accident. You love him, and wanted to be near him."  
  
Pan opened her mouth to object but couldn't find words to say. She sat silently for moment thinking before she sighed. "Yeah, I think I do love him."  
  
"Why are you sad about loving him?" he asked noting her sad tone.  
  
"I'm afraid that it's a one-sided love," she admitted.  
  
The two friends talked continuously all night from subjects ranging from Trunks, Marron, parents, and school.  
  
Neither was aware that after his shower, Trunks looked out the window and saw them asleep together on the couch. And neither of them witnessed the jealousy and pain in his eyes.  
  
**************************************************************************** *****************************  
  
In the morning Pan and Mirai woke up on the couch in his room. "Ow, that really hurt my neck," complained Pan as she got up.  
  
The two mumbled 'good mornings' and then went downstairs. Mirai beat Pan to the kitchen and sat down at the table.  
  
"Just in time for breakfast I see" started Bulma when she turned around and saw him reach the table in 2 seconds flat.  
  
Pan walked in and smiled sheepishly at everyone. She sat down next to Bra in an attempt to avoid their surprised faces. "Pan I didn't know you stayed over here last night." said Bulma with a smile that barely covered her curiosity.  
  
"Yeah I was talking to Mirai Trunks and then the storm hit and I didn't feel like flying home."  
  
Pan licked her lips and grabbed her fork to start eating.  
  
Bra was busy wondering why Trunks wore such a serious expression on his face but decided not to ask him.  
  
"What was so important that you talked about?" she asked curiously. She was beginning to wonder if Mirai Trunks and Pan liked each other, but dismissed the idea because she knew that Pan had major feelings for (GT) Trunks. Bra couldn't really see either of them with someone else. In her mind they were destined for each other.  
  
Pan bit her lip, hoping that she wouldn't cry when she explained, but thankfully she didn't have too.  
  
"She found out that her ex boyfriend, a close friend of hers died, and wanted to talk." Mirai Trunks explained, taking another bite of toast.  
  
"Jeremy died? Oh my Kami, I'm so sorry Pan."  
  
"Oh Pan, I'm sorry"  
  
"I'm sorry to hear that Pan." Said Trunks, 'Why did she go to him for comfort and not me? He thought sadly. "Are you going to be ok?"  
  
"Yeah, thanks," she murmured, hoping that the subject would change. Bulma was about to yell at Vegeta for not saying anything when Bra, sensing her friend's discomfort, changed the subject.  
  
"How is the vaccine coming along, mom?" she asked remembering that Bulma had pulled another all nighter.  
  
Bulma sighed, "I think I'm almost done, but I'm not sure how to distribute it." (If you have any ideas on how to distribute vaccine to the entire population of earth with out causing widespread terror by telling people that there will be an epidemic please give me ideas in your reviews!!!!!)  
  
"I'm sure we'll think of something" assured Trunks.  
  
The family continued to eat and talk. Pan glanced at the clock and got up quickly. "Thanks for the food Bulma-san. I have to go before my father kills me. Ja ne."  
  
She quickly left the kitchen and flew home.  
  
"Hi Mom, Hi Dad" She walked in and smiled at her parents.  
  
"Hey honey. How are you?" asked a concerned Videl.  
  
"I've been better, but I should be fine." she said hoping she sounded sincere. She didn't want everyone to worry about her.  
  
"Honey, your mother and I have had reservations for a two week cruise that leaves tomorrow but if you don't want to be left alone then we..."  
  
"No Dad" she interrupted "You two deserve a vacation, and have been planning that cruise for months. I will be fine here, and I can always go to the Briefs if there is a problem."  
  
After about 15 minutes of "Are you sure?"s and reassurances Videl and Gohan went to pack.  
  
**************************************************************************** ************************  
  
Bra waited after Breakfast to make sure that the coast was clear. 'Well Mom will be working on the vaccine so she won't notice..."  
  
Bulma walked over to the kitchen sink and turned on the cleaning bots to take care of the mess at the table.  
  
Bra looked towards her father and smiled when she saw him dragging Mirai Trunks to the gravity room grumbling something about how weak he must have gotten over the years. 'Well, that's two more people I won't have to worry about...'  
  
She looked up at smirked when she saw Trunks trying to sneak out the back door. "Not so fast young man" yelled their mother.  
  
Trunks stopped in his tracks and turned around with an innocent smile on his face. The smile didn't fool his mother. "Trunks, you know that the annual budget reports are due Thursday right? You need to work on them..."  
  
Trunks walked out of the house. 'Another person not to worry about...' thought Bra who got up and walked upstairs. She had to make a phone call.  
  
Bra sat impatiently waiting for the phone to stop ringing on the other end. "Ring ring. Geez how long does it take for him to answer the damn pho...."  
  
"Moshi Moshi"  
  
"Hey, Goten. When do you want to meet?"  
  
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Ok, I'm not really happy about this chapter. I'm starting to run out of inspiration but hopefully that will change soon.  
  
Ok, what will happen in the next chapter? What is Bra planning? When are Mirai Trunks and Marron going to talk? (Hehe, Jen knows all about that one...) What will Pan do alone in the house while her parents are out of town? Poor Trunks, How will he get out of the budget report thing? How will Pan handle Trunks jealousy about her friendship with Mirai Trunks? When do Bra's flying lessons start? Find out in the next chapter.  
  
REVIEW!!!!!!!! 


	6. 'Get a hold of yourself Bra.'

Hey everyone!! Miss me? Well, I am finally home and ready to write more. I sort of accidently left my notebook at her house, and since she lives 4 hours away she will probably end up mailing it to me, and who knows how long that will take. So i decided to write this chapter again. Enjoy! oh yeah, REVIEW!!!!!  
  
" " Talking  
  
' ' thinking  
  
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Sitting next to her window she stared out into space. She was deep in thought, and pretty confused.  
  
'I wonder why he looked so mad at breakfast...He wouldn't have gotten the wrong idea about me staying the night with Mirai could he? No, that can't be it. He doesn't like me like that so why would he care if I'm friends with an alternate him? Well, he is my friend. Maybe he just thinks that I didn't want to come to him for help last night. I should go talk to him...'  
  
Pan had the window opened and one leg out when she heard a knock on the door.  
  
"Pan, honey. Would you mind helping me pack and do the laundry?" asked Videl, awaiting the door to open.  
  
Pan sighed and went to help her mother. 'I'll talk to him later.' she thought solemly. 'I need to talk to him.'  
  
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Bra stealthily left the house not wanting to attract any attention. The last thing she needed was her mother drilling her on where she was because some employee saw her leaving. It wasn't like she usually kept things from her mother, and snuck out of the house. But she knew that if her mom knew she was going to see Goten, even just for flying lessons that her father would find out. Vegeta finding out would have bad consequences.  
  
Since her mother had confiscated all of her capsule cars due to her grounding, she took the liberty of "borrowing" one from Trunks. He wouldn't notice he'd be at work all day.  
  
When she was a safe distance from the main building she pulled out the car. 'At least I picked a nice one' she thought gazing at the black convertible.  
  
She glanced down at the other capsules in her hand. "Do I have everything? Extra clothes, food, books, cd's.yeah it looks like it."  
  
She started to drive out of Satan city, remembering the directions she was given on the phone.  
  
'At least I'll be able to fly! And being able to spend time with Goten is a great plus too. Eh hehe, of course I'm not doing this just to see him, I want to fly.well maybe I want to be with him more than I want to fly, but I can't let him know that. I gotta get Goten to notice me.'  
  
Bra continued to drive out of city limits. She felt a weird familiarity with the hills and trees passing by.almost as if she had been there before. "Nah, don't think I've been this far out of the city, at least not in this direction."  
  
She sighed and turned on the radio, silencing her thoughts for a while. ~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~`*`~  
  
Mirai had been sparring with Vegeta for 3 hours that morning. He was tired, sweaty, bloody, bruised, and satisfied with the workout. He sat down in a kitchen chair and smirked. He had actually surprised his father by proving he had improved since his last visit.  
  
He took another sip of his water and was about to get up when someone walked through the door. Without looking towards him, the girl walked towards the cabinets and pulled out a mug, proceeding to pour a cup of coffee.  
  
All Mirai could see was blonde hair, and a 'really nice body' in his opinion.  
  
"What are you doing here?" he asked curiously. He concluded that she worked at Capsule Corp due to her business like clothing, and he wanted to know why she was in their kitchen. 'I thought the house was restricted for employees. Not like I mind seeing someone pretty in the morning.'  
  
He knew he surprised her when he heard a sharp intake of breath and saw her hands fumble. When she turned around he was surprised.  
  
'Oh great, so I was checking out Marron. This really isn't the time for my hormones to go gaga over the person related to the reason everyone I loved died.  
  
"Oh, Hey Mirai Trunks. I didn't see you there. Bulma asked me to get her another cup of coffee she made me her lab assistant until she perfects the vaccine."  
  
She turned back around and wiped up the bit of coffee that spilled.  
  
"Oh" he responded indifferently, when he was really thinking 'great, she's friends with my mom, even though her mom tried to kill my mom.'  
  
He suppressed his anger and got up to leave Marron turned around to witness him wince in pain and grasp his shoulder. "You're hurt." She said worried.  
  
"I'm fine." He hissed through closed teeth.  
  
"You are not fine. Let me go get you a first aid kit, or would you prefer a regeneration tank?" she asked.  
  
"I said I'm fine." He raised his voice and began to walk out of the room.  
  
Marron was startled by his tone. She didn't expect him to be so mad. "Geez, I was just trying to help. Remind me not to do that again." She muttered under her breath. But not soft enough to evade his Saiyan hearing.  
  
"I don't need YOUR help," he yelled, walking through the door.  
  
"What is your problem?" She followed him out the door and stared at him. She was just trying to be nice. She had spent the previous night convincing herself that Mirai didn't hate her, and she was just imagining the tenseness at the mall. 'Well, looks like I was wrong.'  
  
Mirai Trunks turned and faced her. "You want to know what the problem is? YOU are the problem. Why don't you just go away? No one wants you here. Especially me!"  
  
Marron was shocked. She had been nothing but kind to him, and he had the nerve to yell at her and treat her like some kind of foot fungus that won't disappear?  
  
"Who the hell are you to talk to me like that? You don't even know me! Are you taking 'How to be an asshole' lessons from your father?"  
  
"No but it's but it's obvious you've been taking bitch lessons from your mother!"  
  
Marron opened her mouth to reply but Mirai had already left the room.  
  
"Damn him" she cursed, holding her hands tight in fists. "I need to vent." she walked out of the room and towards the main building in Capsule Corps.  
  
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Bra pulled her car to a stop and recapsled it so no one could know she was there. She looked around thought fully and reveled in the beauty around her. There was still a nagging feeling that she should recognize this place. A feeling that made her think it was once held dear in her heart. But she couldn't remember ever being there before.  
  
She looked around and saw the small dirt trail she was told to find. 'Lets see if I can remember his directions: Exit 133, small dirt trail, left at large rock, right at fork, climb down steps on cliff, walk towards lake, meet him near waterfall. Wow Goten, complicated directions but like you said, the scenery is worth it."  
  
Bra found her way to the cliff and searched for the steps that he mentioned. She scanned the edge and smiled at the sight of wood planks, barely visible under the rocks and dirt. The area wasn't too steep, and she made her way down with ease.  
  
Wow this place is really beautiful. It looks like a wonderful place to go camping. I bet that's why someone put these steps in.'  
  
When she reached the bottom she took in the silence. Only opening her eyes when she thought she heard little kids laughing. 'There's no one around, I must be day dreaming.'  
  
She immediately saw the lake, very near by and could even make out a figure moving near a waterfall.  
  
She slipped off her jacket and sandals, leaving her in a red tank top and knee length blue jean skirt, as she walked near the side of the lake closest to the waterfall she pulled her hair up in bun.  
  
Right when he came into view after passing a large tree she attempted to call out his name, but found that she was frozen solid. Standing in front of her was Goten with no shirt on, and practicing fighting stances.  
  
She forced herself to look away from his glistening form and tried to slow her beating heart. 'I will not think about how the sun reflected off of him, I will ignore the fact that he his half dressed and really gorgeous and right in front of me. Damn, Why do I always feel this way around him? And why can't I ever tell him how I feel?'  
  
"Goten" she called out smiling, pretending that she had just arrived.  
  
Goten smirked, he had felt her Ki behind him for 5 minutes, and even sensed her eyes wandering. 'Maybe I do have a chance with her' he thought, turning around and flashing the fabulous Son smile.  
  
"Hey Bra. Did it take long to get here?"  
  
Bra blushed realizing that she was staring. "A little long, but you were right. The scenery here is well worth the wait." 'And seeing you is worth the long drive too.' She added in her thoughts.  
  
She glanced around and smiled. It was so much more different out in the country than in the city. Here it was so quiet and peaceful. You could even feel the power from the Earth and could feel the fresh air cleanse you. And when it was dark you could actually see the stars because there were no traffic lights, no loud cars, and no annoying neighbors.  
  
Yes, when she was older she would definitely live in the country. And if she learned to fly than she could easily go back and forth to the city, for shopping, friends, school, or work.  
  
"I take it you like it here?" he asked noticing her smile  
  
Bra smiled at Goten. "Yeah I love it here. It seems so familiar but I can't quite place it."  
  
Bra thought that she saw disappointment flicker across Gotens face but dismissed. "Are we going to start my lesson? Or do you want to eat first?"  
  
Goten looked up excited "You brought food?"  
  
Bra giggled, 'Same old Goten,' "Yes I brought food. I have to repay you somehow for teaching me how to fly.  
  
Goten smiled "You don't need to repay me. I'm happy that I'm going to get to teach you ." 'Just being around you is enough payment for me.'  
  
"How about we start the lesson, then take a break to eat later?"  
  
"Ok, now I'm warning you that I won't teach you the same way Pan and Vegeta and other people tried since those methods didn't work. So I want you to forget their instructions and trust me alright?"  
  
Bra nodded her head in agreement " I trust you Goten." 'I trust you, I like you, I love you, I need you, I want you.'  
  
"Ok, lets talk first. Do you have any questions?"  
  
Bra looked up curiously, "Yeah, um how long do you think it will take me to learn?"  
  
Goten shrugged, "I'm not sure. The time varies for different people. I guess about a couple days, to two weeks. It all depends on how long we stay and how quick you learn."  
  
'I don't know what I want more, to learn quickly so I can fly and actually go places with out a car (not to mention find some way to thank Goten for teaching me and showing Trunks that I'm not a dumb ditz and can actually learn how to fly) or learn slowly and spend more time alone with him.'  
  
"Ok, now take off your skirt?"  
  
Bra paused, arched an eyebrow, and looked at him with disbelief. 'I didn't think he was a hentai' "Excuse me?"  
  
Goten laughed. "You did wear wind shorts like I told you right? You don't expect to fly in a skirt. You're going to need to move around."  
  
Bra just blushed and threw off the jean skirt showing black wind short underneath. "I didn't forget."  
  
"Alright, now lay down on the ground spread eagle."  
  
"GOTEN! What???" Bra blushed bright red and shook her head.  
  
Goten laughed, "Sorry couldn't help."  
  
She gave him a look and he stopped laughing. Although she was still blushing and he had to admit that she looked cute.  
  
"Well, we do need to lay down, in order to meditate." He said, trying to concentrate on being a teacher, not falling for one of his friends.  
  
Bra looked at the grass beneath her feet and sighed. Soon she and Goten were lying on their backs next to each other. She let his soft comforting voice guide her in meditations. She was using a lot of self control to ignore the fact that she was lying so close to the man she had been in love with for years, very cute, and they were very alone. 'Get a hold of yourself Bra.'  
  
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An: I don't know if I like this chapter, or the chapter I originally wrote. I left the notebook with the original chapter at my friends house. This one is really different than the other I wrote, probably because I wrote this one at 5:30 am. and was on a caffine and sugar high. Well, Review and tell me what you think. I'll get the next chapter out by the end of the day.  
  
REVIEW please!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Scarlett Fire---Is that enough of a blow up? Don't worry, fights and fluff to come!! I think your going to love a little plot twist coming up. hehehe ::slaps head:: sorry, I try not to laugh evil when I put people in suspense.  
  
And Everyone---Thanks for the wonderful reviews, encouragement, and suggestions. I really appreciate it. It was wonderful to come back home and have so many reviews! I'll get the next chapter out tonight, It's written, just not typed. 


	7. 'when I was...um...on your lap'

An) Didn't I promise to get this chapter out tonight? Well, I finally typed it up, so here it is.   
  
  
  
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Trunks (GT Trunks) leaned back in his chair watching his blonde friend pace back and forth across the floor. She was cursing, complaining, and describing everything about Mirai Trunks and his behavior. 'She's so blind. She doesn't realize that she's fallen for him. She's fallen deep.'  
  
He was vaguely listening to what she had to say. He didn't have to listen to every word now. She was just venting. 'She must really like him to get so worked up over this' he thought. Wondering how and why she liked Mirai. 'They act like my parents, yelling, and claiming to hate each other when they really just want to be with each other. I wonder if she realizes that she likes him so much? She stares at him from the corner of her eye, blacks out in a day dream in the middle of a conversation, and just has a look in her eye when ever he is mentioned.'  
  
Trunks sighed. It was going to be a long day. He was starting to think that Mirai and Pan liked each other, but he knew that Mirai had a thing for Marron, whether he would admit it or not. 'He acts the same way around Marron that she acts around him. Stealing glances and pretending not to care. Maybe that's why they're at each other's throats. The can't stand the fact that they could feel something for the other. Mirai because of Marrons mother, and Marron because they've only known each other a few days.'  
  
"…Oh he just gets on my nerves…Thanks for letting me vent Trunks. You're a real sweet heart. No wonder Panny likes you so much. I feel better already." She left the office quickly and much more calmly than when she came. She almost pulled the door off the hinges when she first arrived.  
  
"She just spent a full hour venting and all I did was say hello and ask what's wrong. Oh well at least it gave me a break from the budget…wait….what does she mean Panny likes me so much????"  
  
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Bulma sat in her lab blinking her eyes. She had heard the whole fight and couldn't help but giggle. ::Yawn:: They had acted ::yawn:: just like she and Vegeta used to. And still do sometimes. ::yawn::  
  
Since Marron had disappeared after the fight Bulma didn't have the cup of coffee she so desperately craved.   
  
'It's understandable that she didn't come. She's probably venting to the other Trunks or something.'  
  
Bulma tried one last time to focus on the work but found that she couldn't. 'I'll just rest my eyes for five minutes, maybe for twen...'  
  
The Genius scientist collapsed on her desk, endlessly typing letters on the computer screen. 'nbnbhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.......'  
  
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(This is where you will start to think that I, the author, am going crazy. I blame it on sugar cookies, chocolate ice cream, and Dr. Pepper. Excessive amounts of caffeine and sugar can really mess with your head.)  
  
Mirai Trunks stormed out of the kitchen and up to his room. He leaned against the door and sighed. "I can't believe I said that. Kami, what's getting into me?"  
  
"Yeah, what is wrong with you?" asked a similar voice. Mirai looked up to see if anyone was in the room.   
  
"Huh?" He looked around in confusion.  
  
"Over here you idiot. To your right!"   
  
Mirai Trunks swayed his head to the right and gasped. There was a miniature him dressed in white on his shoulder.  
  
"Aah, what the hell? Who are you?"  
  
The white robed mini Trunks bowed politely. "I am your conscience Trunks. Your voice of reason. You know, the guy you've been ignoring for a few days! You can call me Toran."  
  
"And I…"  
  
Mirai Trunks jumped at the sound of another voice on his left shoulder. He reluctantly looked over to see a miniature Trunks dressed in a red cloak.  
  
"I am your voice of reason. Just call me…"  
  
"You can call him a liar." Interrupted Toran. "He is the reason you make bad decisions. He is the reason that you have so many problems."  
  
"Am not, you are the reason he is so screwed up." he accused.  
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Vegeta left the gravity room for a snack of some sort. After eating 14 large sandwiches he searched for his wife's Ki, expecting to find her busy at work, with no sleep.  
  
Instead he noticed that her Ki was slow and steady. She was asleep. 'Baka. She didn't even fall asleep in her room. Probably just collapsed in her lab.'  
  
Vegeta walked down the hall and looked inside the private lab. He wouldn't go in unless he was sure she was asleep. The lab was off limits to him, and he decided not to break that rule. The baka woman would yell really loud if he went in there.  
  
He spotted a blue mass near her computer and concluded that it must be her head. He walked over and gently picked her up, releasing her nose from pressing the 'h' key.  
  
He carried her upstairs to the room and set her down in the bed. 'You need rest' he thought, 'Sleep well, my little one.'  
  
  
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"No way, you are"  
  
"You are"  
  
"You are"  
  
"Liar"  
  
"I don't lie"  
  
"That's just what you want him to think."  
  
"errrrr" suddenly Toran tackled the red robed mini Trunks. "Die"  
  
"No you die"  
  
…  
  
"Oh great, now I'm having hallucinations. Maybe Dad hit my head too hard when we were training." Mumble Mirai Trunks.   
  
Mirai walked over to the bathroom and splashed his face with cold water. He turned around and groaned. The two figures were still there, and now they were floating in the doorway between the bathroom and his room.  
  
"You're not losing your mind. We're here to help you. Or at least I am. He's here to complicate matters." Toran gave the red figure an evil glare.  
  
"No, I'm here because if you listened to angel boy your whole life you'd be boring, and would never have fun."  
  
"Ok, wait a second. Aren't you supposed to have wings, a harp and a halo or something? And aren't you supposed to have devil ears and a tail and such?" Trunks asked confused.  
  
Both figures sighed. "This isn't a movie you know. We blame Hollywood for stereotyping peoples inner consciences"  
  
"If you're my conscience then why aren't you in my head or something. Why do you have to show up on my shoulder?"  
  
"Look Trunks, there's no time for questions here. Angel boy and I have actually agreed on something for a change."  
  
Trunks coughed. "Uhm how do I get you to go away?"  
  
"You have to reach a state of clarity, or in other words you have to stop this inner struggle." Toran said, leaning against Trunks neck.  
  
"What goodie good here is trying to say, is that you need to make a decision about Marron."  
  
Trunks leaned against the bathroom counter. "What do you think I should do about Marron?"  
  
Toran sighed. "We can't tell you what to do! We just guide you to know what you truly feel."  
  
Trunks shook his head. "I don't know how I feel. I barely know her."  
  
The red figure sighed. "Then how come you're judging her already?"  
  
"How come the moment you saw her you felt as if you had known her forever?"  
  
"Than why can you feel a bond growing?"  
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Pan finally helped her parents finish packing and convinced them to let her go to Capsule corp. to see Bra.  
  
'Well I don't know if I'll see Bra there though. I think I'm going to visit Trunks. Maybe he needs help with the budget.'  
  
She took off in the direction of Capsule Corp and entered Trunks office through the window as usual. Landing right behind his chair. She slipped her hands over his eyes and lowered her Ki.  
  
"Guess who?" she whispered into his ear.  
  
She noticed him shiver, as she was so close to him.  
  
"Uhmmm Bra?" Trunks asked, playing along.  
  
"Nope. Strike one." She whispered.  
  
"Marron?" he tried not to chuckle.  
  
"Strike two."  
  
"Can I have a hint?"  
  
"Hmmm... I'm the only strange person who would actually come up here to help you with your budget report because I want to order Chinese food, and stay up all night talking like we did with last years annual budget report and the report the year before, and I believe one more year before that."  
  
"hmmm. I know Stacy right?" Trunks smirked  
  
"Strike three. You're out. I'm going to have to punish you for that." She still didn't remove her hands from his eyes.  
  
Trunks raised an eyebrow. "Punishment eh? Will I like it?"  
  
Trunks expected her to slap him and call him a pervert but instead she continued to play.  
  
"It depends on if I feel like being a bad girl or not," she purred back.  
  
"Pan?" Trunks turned around surprised, not expecting this type of behavior from her.  
  
"Relax Trunks. I was just kidding. That look on your face was too priceless for me to pass up the opportunity. Need any help this year?" she asked hopefully, light shimmering in her eyes.  
  
"Well, I will need help on the budget, so if you want to pull another all-nighter with me like last year we can sit up with Chinese take out, and papers everywhere."  
  
"It sounds fun. I couldn't ask for more! I'll go get us some Chinese food. Anything else you want?"  
  
Trunks looked to be in serious thought for a moment. "Well...I...could...use a distraction...a break." He kept his cool and slid his arms around her waist before tugging her forwards so he sat in his lap with her legs on either side of his.  
  
"T...Tr...Trunks?" she asked stunned.  
  
'I wonder if Marron was right when she said that Pan liked me...'  
  
He snuggled his face in the crook of her neck, breathing in her scent. "Do you know how great you smell?"  
  
Pan sighed, and then breathed in the scent of his hair. "You smell good too."  
  
At that moment Pan lifted her eyes in time to see the office door open. She tried to get up but Trunks was holding her tight so she burried her head in his neck. Marron, the secretary, and Bulma (who had wokenup 5 minutes after Vegeta put her in bed) started to walk in. They paused at the sight of Pan in Trunks lap and just turned around and left, closing the door behind them.  
  
"That was embarrassing," murmured Pan getting off of Trunks lap.  
  
"What was?" he asked looking around.  
  
"Your mom and Marron walked in the room when I was...um...on your lap. They are going to get the wrong idea."  
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"No, no no…" Mirai Trunks hit his head against the doorframe. "There is no bond. NO bond. I can't bond to her. Not to the daughter of someone I hate so much. Of someone who killed all that I loved. I can't bond to someone who looks like her mother when her mother tried to kill me. When her mother killed so many.  
  
The two figures shrugged and looked at him sympathetically. Then the red one punched him in the cheek and sent him out of the bathroom and into his room. "Why can't you see clearly? I don't think you realize that you aren't only hurting yourself, but you're hurting her."  
  
"He'll snap out of it soon." Smirked the figure in white, knowing all about the upcoming events. "... Unless we somehow changed everything by showing up. I knew this is a bad idea. What if something bad happens now?"  
  
"Then we pretend it isn't our fault?"  
  
"Sounds like a plan"  
  
With that the two figures disappeared.  
  
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An: Ok so it was a little weird. And yes, his hallucinations do play a role in the story, or at least I will make it so they do.  
  
Stay Tuned and REVIEW!!!!!!  
  
Oh and see Scarlet Fire? Mirai's not a meanie; he's just going a little crazy. hehehe, I told you guys I was weird when I wrote these chapters!  
  
Oh and I couldn't resist doing that to Trunks and Pan. HEHE, I wasn't planning anything on them for a while but i didn't want them left out. Sorry there was no G/B in this chapter. I'm still trying to figure out exactly how he is going to teach her. I don't know how to teach someone to fly so coming up with directions is pretty hard.  
Well REVIEW!!!!!! PLEASE!!!!!! 


	8. 'You can't expect two thickheaded Saiyan...

Sorry this chapter took a while to get out. I'm having trouble making decisions with it, and the people who usually talk me out of my writer's block haven't been online or on fanfiction.net lately so they have no idea about details in this story. I usually write faster when I have encouragement and people giving me ideas. Thanks to all those who have been reviewing. Here's the chapter, sorry it's so short.  
  
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Bra was just laying on her back concentrating on Goten's voice. 'I'm relaxed, I'm imagining myself lift off the ground, and yet I'm still on the ground. I don't think this is working.' she thought skeptically before opening her eyes and staring at the clouds.  
  
She refocused and listened for Goten's voice, but she couldn't hear it. Looking to her left Bra couldn't help but smile. Goten had fallen asleep. 'He looks so cute when he's sleeping. Like an Angel...' She refocused on the clouds and sighed. 'This is getting kind of boring. I wonder if I should wake him up so we can eat.'  
  
She reached over and nudged his shoulder hoping that it would stir him from his sleep, but Goten didn't make any noise or sign to show that he was on the verge of waking up. "Humph you're just like Pan. Whenever I try and wake her up she just goes into a deeper sleep. With her I can at least whisper 'Trunks' and she will wake up quickly." She groaned, pulling her hand away from his shoulder and sliding it down his chest. Her hand went to his stomach and she tried tickling him but he didn't budge. 'Damn, I forgot that he isn't ticklish.'  
  
"Goten," she said near his ear. "Goten wake up." Her voice was louder. "Goten you idiot, WAKE UP"  
  
He still didn't move and she was beginning to get frustrated. She went to her jacket and grabbed the food capsule knowing full well that aroma of food would make him awake and alert in a matter of seconds.  
  
Goten sat down next to Bra and the large amount of food that she took out of the Capsule. 'Wow, I knew it would take a few seconds to get him over here, but I didn't expect him to move THAT fast.'  
  
They had tried to get her to meditate and relax in order to fly, but that approach hadn't worked. They'd have to move to plan B...after they ate, decided Goten.  
  
The two hungry Saiyans rapidly began to devour food quickly. They finished in a matter of minutes and sat back to relax.  
  
"Wow Bra. That food tasted better than my Mothers cooking, just don't tell her that. I didn't know Bulma cooked so well. Man, what I wouldn't give to marry someone who could cook like this." He leaned on his arms, which were outstretched behind him and then he closed his eyes with a sigh.  
  
Bra looked up surprised and then blushed. "Well my mother didn't cook the food. I did. I made it before I left the house. Did you really like it?"  
  
Goten opened his eyes and looked at her with an arched eyebrow. "You cooked all this? Yes it was great Bra, like I said it was better than my moms."  
  
She smiled and looked away blushing. "I'm glad you liked it." It was very quiet now, neither willing to speak. They both remembered what he also said about marriage.  
  
Goten sighed again. Bra was just so cute when she blushed like that. The bridge of her nose would always start to get pink first, and then it would spread over her cheeks 'Kami, she's so gorgeous. Why do I always notice the cute little things about her? I wish I could just tell her how I feel. But as perfect as it seems, I know this isn't the right time. I have to wait.'  
  
"Goten, can I ask you something?" Bra spoke, breaking the uncomfortable silence.  
  
Goten leaned forward and sat Indian style, stretching an arm to cup her chin in his hand. "You can ask me anything Bra," He stated, giving her a reassuring smile.  
  
Bra blushed again at his touch and smiled. He withdrew his hand and continued to stare at her.  
  
"Well, I was just wondering..."  
  
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Trunks turned away from Pan to glance at the door, it was left partially open and he could still feel his mothers Ki near by.  
  
"I doubt they'll think anything weird. They know we fool around like that," he said turning to her and smiling.  
  
Pan was blushing like crazy, 'I can't believe I was sitting in his lap. Oh my Kami.'  
  
"Pan, what's wrong? You're blushing?" Trunks teased with a smirk on his face.  
  
Pan opened her moth to speak but instead walked around his desk and towards the door. "I'm...uh...going to...go get Chinese food. I'll be back in a few."  
  
Trunks watched her form retreat from the door and licked his lips. She was so close to him and all he did was flirt. 'Why couldn't I tell her?' he cursed mentally.  
  
Trunks sighed and also left the room. 'I might as well see what Mom and Marron wanted. Maybe I can clear this whole incident up.'  
  
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Mirai Trunks stood up from the floor in his room and looked around. 'No little flying figures...That's a good sign.'  
  
He shrugged his shoulders and stretched slightly, 'Maybe I just fainted when I came into the room, that might sort of explain the figures as some sort of weird demented dream.'  
  
He stepped out of the door and started to walk to the kitchen. He needed to think about everything, and he could think best on a full stomach.  
  
He walked down the stairs and into the kitchen, brushing his hair back out of his face. When he saw Pan at the door struggling with a few bags of Chinese food he walked faster and took half of them.  
  
"Oh thanks Mirai." Pan said surprised. She hadn't seen him behind her.  
  
He started to set them on the table when he heard her voice. "Oh we weren't going to eat down here. Can you help me carry these to Trunks' office?"  
  
Mirai turned around and smiled. "Sure."  
  
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Trunks left his office instructing his secretary to let Pan inside if he didn't get back before her. He walked down the hallway looking for his mother or Marron and smiled as he caught a familiar glimpse of Blonde hair entering an elevator. He stretched his steps farther apart and put his hand in between the two elevator doors, stopping them from closing.  
  
The doors automatically began to slide open and Trunks was face to face with a surprised Marron and his mother. "Oh Trunks, don't let us bother your little moment with Pan. We didn't mean to interrupt." Said Bulma smirking when she saw a slight blush stain her sons cheeks.  
  
"It wasn't what you were thinking mom. Why were you two looking for me?" He regained his composure, brushing off his mothers smirk by turning serious.  
  
Marron sighed. "Trunks, Are you going to let go of the elevator door or get in here so we can talk on the way to the lab?"  
  
Trunks quirked an eyebrow but quickly stepped in right before the elevator door slid shut. "Ok, I'm in. Now will you tell me what's up? Why are we going to the lab?"  
  
Bulma smiled. "Well I finally completed the vaccine and have adapted it into a very strong liquid, but it needs to be inhaled rather than injected in order to build up an immunity. So Marron and I worked overtime and came up with an idea to add it into water, like oceans, lakes, rivers and such all across the world. That way when it is evaporated it will stay with in the atmosphere just long enough to spread all over the earth and eventually be inhaled by the whole of the population. This way we don't have to worry about the poor and homeless as well as inhabitants of 3rd world countries being unable to get injections in time." (I, The author, have absolutely no idea if that could ever actually work in the real world, but uhm just pretend that it will ok?)  
  
Trunks nodded his head. "What does all this have to do with me?"  
  
This time it was Marron who began to speak. "Well we need to take the solution to the water sources in order for them to dilute and evaporate, but we don't think that hiring people to pour chemicals into the ocean would be the wise choice. So we were going to ask you to take 5 of the bottles and go to." Marron glanced at the paper on her clipboard before continuing. ". To the Great Lakes, Mississippi River, Salt Lake, Gulf of Mexico, and Ohio river. They are all in the USA, and since no one else has been there but you, we figured you would know where to find them better than the others. We were going to ask Gohan to take care of the North sea, Baltic Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea, and Caspian sea around Europe, Goten to take care of the Artic Ocean above Asia and North America, Vegeta to handle North and South Pacific Ocean, Krillin to take care of Hudson Bay, Labrador Sea, the North Atlantic, and South Atlantic Ocean, Mirai Trunks to take care of the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea."  
  
Trunks stared at her for a moment, "Don't worry about where they are going Trunks, Can you do the places in the US?" asked Bulma.  
  
"Yeah sure, but what about the Sea of Okhotsk, Yellow sea, Sea of Japan, East China sea, and South China sea?"  
  
Bulma blinked. "You mean you were actually listening to the places Marron mentioned?"  
  
"Well yeah. I listen to important information if it doesn't have to do with work."  
  
Bulma was about to argue when the doors opened and Marron pushed her out. "Don't worry Trunks. I was going to ask Pan to help me take care of those places. Can you tell her to talk to me when you see her again? You know.if you can manage to get her off of your lap."  
  
The elevator doors shut leaving a smirking Marron and open mouthed Trunks separated.  
  
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" Well I was just wondering...if Trunks has mentioned anything about Pan? I know you know that Pan likes Trunks, Dende knows that Trunks is the only one that doesn't know how Pan feels, but I was just wondering if Trunks ever talked to you about her..."  
  
Bra couldn't help but lift an eyebrow when she witnessed Goten's smirk. Something definitely had to be up. "Well...don't let him know that I told you because he would probably hurt me, and if he found out that you told Pan then he'd probably kill both of us..."  
  
"Goten just tell me what he said or I won't bring any more food tomorrow." said Bra impatiently.  
  
"No food? Ok ok I'll tell you. One time when Trunks and I were hanging out after he ditched work we got to talking about girls. I told him about my feelings for his s...secretary and in return he told me how he felt about my niece."  
  
Bra looked surprised. "His secretary? Oh come on Goten. Don't tell me you like her? She's married!!!!"  
  
Goten gulped. Originally he was going to say that he revealed his feelings for Trunks sister, but when he realized that that meant he would be confessing his love to Bra he came up with the first word that started with an s. "Well...you see it was umm...his fill in secretary! You know the girl that filled in for his usual secretary when she went on maternity leave."  
  
Bra eyed him suspiciously but decided not to probe anymore. "So, how does he feel about Pan?"  
  
Happy that the subject turned away from him he answered with a smile. "Well he said, and I am quoting him here. 'Do you mind Goten? That I am totally head over heals in love with your niece? It's just that I've known Pan all my life, and I can't help but feel this way about her.' He said some other stuff but I think you get the idea."  
  
With a smile Bra couldn't help but jump on her feet and spin around with her arms out stretched and her head tilted back. She stopped and looked at her friend with a huge smile. "Do you know how great this is? They would make the cutest couple. How should we get them together?"  
  
Goten chuckled and stood up. "Calm down Bra. They both like each other so they should end up together."  
  
Bra looked at him in disbelief "Are you serious Goten. With their pride? With their obliviousness? You can't expect two thickheaded Saiyans to get together on their own! Are you going to help me get them together or not?"  
  
Goten sighed. "Yeah I'll help. But first...back to your lesson."  
  
With that Goten wrapped his arms around her waist and levitated off the ground.  
  
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Hey everyone. I'm sorry that this chapter was so short. There's plenty more in the story to come. I've got the whole story mapped out, but right now I'm just developing their friendships and relationships before I jump into the conflicts. It's better than just saying...3 weeks later... I hope to get the next chapter out tonight, and maybe tomorrow morning.  
  
Ok, well review!!! And I changed my e-mail address to ::: IMAGINATIVE ONE1 @aol.com so e-mail me if you want to talk or give advice or something. Please, I need human contact!!!! Ok, well I'll stop blabbing endlessly and go ahead and end this so I can clean my room and start writing some more. 


	9. '311 that means an emergency' Subtitled:...

Disclaimer: Whoops, I haven't been writing one of these for this story. I just want to inform you people who don't know any better that I don't own Dragon Ball Z/Gt/ and so on, nor do I own any of it's characters (::sniff:: It's just not fair!) I also want to say that I don't own Peter Pan, or any lyrics from the Sound of Music, but I do use all of it in my story. Read and enjoy!  
  
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Bra felt her feet lift off the ground and looked up as if trying to avoid the fact that she was so high in the air, and unable to control the rapid increase in altitude.  
  
"Goten, since the meditation approach didn't work how do you know this one will?" she asked, gripping her hands on his arm, which was securely wrapped around her waist.  
  
Goten smiled at the back of her head. "Well for starters the meditation approach had never been tried before. This one works for most flying forms. This is how birds learn to fly.and so forth."  
  
"Oh Yeah? And what is this approach called?" she asked while unknowingly loosening her grip and getting comfortable in his arms. Goten smiled again. "Oh it's called the 'Elevator Drop'."  
  
Bra was quiet and very still for a moment as she looked down. Goten was above the lake now and had stopped moving upwards. "Elevator Drop?" her voice wavered. "Why don't I like the sound of tha..." suddenly her eyes opened wide and she tried to turn around and hold on to him. "Goten don't you dare!" Shrieked Bra.  
  
But Goten dared. Before Bra could obtain a stable grip his arms left her and she began to fall.  
  
'I'm going to kill him' she decided as she started to descend at a rapid and increasing pace.  
  
She closed her eyes, crossed her fingers and held her breath all the time praying in her thoughts, 'Oh Dende, please let me fly. Don't let me fall. Please stop me.'  
  
But it was of no use because in the blink of a human's eye she was submerged in the crystal clear lake water.  
  
Gathering her senses she felt herself falling deeper in the water. As soon as her foot found a rock she let herself sink further, bending her knees, before suddenly straitening her legs and launching herself upwards to the surface. When she felt her face surrounded with air she moved her legs to keep herself afloat.  
  
"I am so going to kill you Goten." She yelled while wiping water from her eyes and looking around. She started to paddle to land when Goten landed at the edge, chuckling silently at the events.  
  
He grabbed her arms when she was within reach and pulled her on land. "I didn't realize that a wet Saiyan could so perfectly resemble a wet kitten." he joked laughing more but quickly shutting up when she gave a very intimidating glare. (imagine the kind your mother gives you when she has a migraine and you ask to have some friends come over.or she asks for the "thousandth" time that you clean your room.)  
  
"Why the hell did you drop me?" she asked, teeth chattering, and body shivering.  
  
"I thought you liked to swim?" he guessed slowly taking a step backwards for every step she took towards him.  
  
"Yeah I like to swim Goten." she said matter-of-factly, almost as if she calmed down. But it didn't appear to stay that way for long when she began to yell. "But not by falling into water 30 feet from the air!"  
  
Goten chuckled nervously, taking another step back for precaution. "Well it wasn't quite 30 feet..." he started, but stopped when she flashed the same glare as before. "What? It works for birds!"  
  
Bra gripped her head with her hand and sighed. "Yeah, but there's three things. Birds usually catch the baby before they hit the ground. Birds have wings and instructions to follow. I don't know a single thing about actually flying. Oh and the third thing, I'M NOT A BIRD!!"  
  
Goten smiled, knowing that Bra wasn't quite as pissed off. She was acting because her Ki was lowering. "No instructions?" he thought. "Oh yeah! I knew I forgot something!"  
  
Bra stared in disbelief. "There are instructions? How am I supposed to fly without you telling me? Why didn't you tell me?"  
  
Goten shrugged his shoulders, "Well I guess it just slipped my mind." he said, scratching the back of his head and flashing the famous 'Son smile.'  
  
"I can't believe this," she muttered under her breath. "How long is it going to take to explain?"  
  
Goten tilted his head in thought before replying. "Well maybe an hour, or two."  
  
Bra sighed. "Why can't this be as simple as it is in Peter Pan? Why can't you just sprinkle me with Fairy dust and get me to think about what makes me happy, like holidays, and Cheesecake, shopping, cute boys, good grades, new credit cards, getting Pan in a dress, slumber parties, the ocean, kittens, and little puppies with red bows around their collars, tiny clips near their ears and little red rain boots over their paws? Why can't doing that lift me off the ground?"  
  
"Little red rainboots on their paws? Why not just start singing Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes, Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes, Silver white winters that melt into springs, These are few of my favorite things." Goten was relieved to see Bra smile. He was just goofy enough to actually sing the last part.  
  
"Come on Goten. Where's your fairy dust?" she joked, walking up to him and trying to reach into his pockets.  
  
Goten tried to grab her fast moving hands and eventually found her wrists. They both froze, starring into each other's eyes. Bra suddenly felt warm and dry all over. She looked down to see that Goten had raised his Ki to dry her clothing and hair.  
  
"Do I look like a fairy?" he asked releasing her wrists and taking a step back to let her look.  
  
Bra was immediately struck with a mental image of Goten, hovering in the air with little silver wings, long hair, and wearing a tank top with a green skirt. She couldn't help but giggle. "I don't know Goten. You might look good with wings and a skirt," she laughed and Goten began laughing too.  
  
After a few minutes they calmed down. "Just promise me that you won't drop me like that again?" she asked, still giggling a little.  
  
"I promise. But Remember, you agreed to trust my methods. But for now why don't I explain the instructions before we both forget about them?"  
  
Bra nodded her head but then turned around at the sound of a small continuous beep. "My pager" she commented, turning around in an attempt to ignore it. When they heard a second continuous beep they knew that both pagers were going off.  
  
They walked over towards the noise and found them amongst their discarded items. "311 that means an emergency at Capsule Corp. We should get over there."  
  
Without further thought Goten picked up Bra and flew towards the city.  
  
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"What's wrong?" asked Pan just as she and Mirai Trunks stepped into the elevator. They barely missed Bulma and Marron stepping out of the elevator beside them.  
  
Pan placed her bags of food on the floor of the service elevator. They decided that it would be better to take the elevator meant for Janitors so that they wouldn't have to run into so many people with all this food.  
  
"Why do you think something's wrong?" asked Mirai, glancing at her with a forced smile while setting the packages on the floor. It was a forced smile that she happened to catch.  
  
"Well for starters you're wearing torn, burnt, and singed training attire, you're hair is a mess, you look tired, and you just forced a smile. Not to mention the fact that you are dodging the question and have done nothing but say "sure" to everything I've said since we left the kitchen. It's obvious that your mind is somewhere else."  
  
Mirai was pretty shocked. "My hair messed up? Dende, do you have a mirror? A comb to?" he asked in mock horror, glad that Pan laughed.  
  
"I'm serious," she giggled. "You tried to dodge it again. What? You don't want to talk to me anymore?"  
  
"Well it's a little weird, and a blow to my pride. I'd rather not tell anyone about it."  
  
Pan sighed. "You know that it helps to talk things through right? Well if I recall correctly we agreed to keep our conversations confidential. And we agreed to ignore embarrassment and be able to talk about anything, no matter how much pride was at stake." Before Trunks could speak she shifted her hips to the left, purposely pressing the stop button, trapping them between the 6th and 7th floors.  
  
Mirai leaned against the wall after he felt the sudden jerk of the small room.  
  
"Well, it all started after I was training with father and went inside to sit in the kitchen. That was when..."  
  
Mirai proceeded to relay his side of the fight in the kitchen, adding his opinions, and feelings, but keeping the dialogue exchanged exactly the way it was.  
  
"...And I went up to my room." he said, not telling her about his inner conscience struggle.  
  
"Well, I'm not quite sure how to remedy that fight. Maybe if you just..."  
  
"Well I'm not done yet" he interrupted, deciding to mention his 'dream.'  
  
"It gets worse?" she groaned, not liking how all this was sounding.  
  
"Well I must have fallen asleep or something because the next thing I know there was a 'mini me' figure floating on my shoulder. He looked exactly like me only dressed in a white cotton robe. And then another copy showed up on my other shoulder, only this one was in a Red silk robe..."  
  
"With halo's and devil horns too?" interrupted a curious Pan.  
  
Mirai bit his lip. "Well no. And I asked them about that and they rambled something about movie industries, and mistaken identities."  
  
Pan leaned her head against the wall and slid into a sitting position. This was a little weird to comprehend. "They talked too?" she sighed.  
  
Mirai nodded his head and sat down in a similar fashion.  
  
"They called themselves my inner conscience and voice of reason. They didn't seem to like each other though, because half the time they were fighting. Well when the white one tackled the red guy, I went to the bathroom and splashed my face with water. Unfortunately when I turned around they were still there."  
  
"Dear Kami. What did they do?"  
  
"Well, they told me something weird about needing to make a decision concerning Marron. They accused me of liking her, and bonding with her. When I denied the whole think the red one punched me across the room. I woke up on the floor and figured that it was a seriously messed up dream, but it felt so real. Those stupid little figure things weren't there, thankfully."  
  
Pan leaned forward and pulled an eggroll out of the bag. She bit into it and began contemplating the situation, not exactly sure what to say. "I wouldn't exactly call them stupid you know." she said, then quickly swallowed her bite. "They sounded pretty smart to me. Maybe you should have listened," she said. 'I wonder if I should tell Bulma about this...Maybe the hallucinations mean that he is sick or something. What if it's a dangerous side affect from time travel, or perhaps a result of Vegeta hitting him too hard in the head while they trained? Bulma might be able to help...but I promised that this was confidential.'  
  
Mirai stared at her. "Why would they be smart? And why should I listen to them?!" He exclaimed, fearing the worst from her answer.  
  
"Oh Trunks." she sighed, "When are you going to stop lying to yourself and everyone else as well? Just answer me this...What's so wrong about Marron?"  
  
The elevator was filled with silence. Right when Mirai opened his mouth to speak they both heard a beeping sound. Pan looked down ant the pager connected to her belt loop. She promptly hit the (1) button and the elevator began to descend.  
  
"311. That means that there's an emergency," she said. "We need to meet everyone in Bulma's lab."  
  
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Trunks returned to the office and frowned. Pan wasn't there yet. He walked to the desk and started to shuffle through some paper when the phone rang.  
  
He reached over and picked it up without a thought. Following routine he pressed the 'connect' button on the second ring. "Moshi Moshi. Capsule Corp. President Briefs speaking."  
  
"Trunks, must you be so formal? This is your personal line for heavens sake!" He heard a female voice giggle.  
  
"What do you want Marron?" he stated, slightly annoyed. He didn't want to be on the phone when Pan came in.  
  
"Oh, well your mother wants to hold a meeting downstairs to pass out assignments. Neither of us know the pager numbers so she wanted to call and ask you to get everyone here immediately."  
  
Trunks groaned. "Alright" he said defeated.  
  
He clicked the phone off and turned on line 1. After punching in the 7- digit number he switched to line 2 and punched in 7 more numbers. He proceeded to change line and dial up all the pagers before switching back to the first line.  
  
"Please punch in your message," alerted a high-pitched voice recording.  
  
'She said immediately, so I'll use the emergency umber.' he decided, punching in the 3-didget numbers.  
  
He proceeded to switch lines and punch '311' over and over again.  
  
When he finally finished he hung up the phone. "I hope this doesn't take long," he said to no one in particular.  
  
Trunks walked out of the office and waved to his secretary, who was used to his constant comings and goings and took the wave to mean that she should hold his calls.  
  
Trunks walked to the elevator and stepped in. Again watching the door slide shut.  
  
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An) Is it me or did I use elevators a lot in this chapter? Goten's flying lesson included the 'elevator drop' Mirai and Pan talked in an elevator, and Trunks entered one at the end. Oh well.  
  
I would like to thank the following people for their quick reviews. As soon as I posted the chapter I went to get a Dr. Pepper and heat up some soup (I'm a little sick). And when I came back (after being gone for 15 minutes) I already had 3 reviews! Well I would like to thank  
  
Pine: Thanks for answering the question in my Author notes at the end of chapter 9, and for reviewing so quickly. I really appreciate getting reviews.  
  
~PanHopeNVS~: Thanks for the review. Just to let you know there will be a purely MT/M chapter coming up in the next 2 or 3 posts. It's already planned out and partially written, but it wouldn't make sense at this point in the story. It will make sense after the next plot twist (you'll know what I'm talking about when you read those chapters, but first I have to write them...). Anyways, I really cannot wait for your next chapter of Loud Silence. I want to see chapter 3 soon!  
  
Vegea Kalorale: Thank you for the long reviews. How did you know about my plan for Goten to drop her? To tell the truth you gave me the idea when I read your review and I couldn't help but start writing it while I had the inspiration. Thank you for the idea! And how did you know that I researched for the bodies of water too? I used the wonderful World Book Encyclopedia, to find a map.  
  
I would also like to thank all those wonderful people who have been reviewing, you know who you are! I would mention names but I might leave someone out and then I'd feel very bad. So I just want to thank you all!!  
  
Anyways, before I make this as long as the actual chapter, (sorry, I get a little carried away sometimes) I just wanted to remind everyone to please Review! I need to know that people like my writing!  
  
I also changed my Screen name for AOL to :::: Imaginative One1@aol.com and it is meant just so people can Im and e-mail me (with out the constant junk mail that my other account gets.) So you can go ahead and e-mail, or IM me if I'm on. I always appreciate human contact.  
  
Review!!!! 


	10. 'So where should I start?'

An) Well, Here I am again, writing another chapter. Hopefully I can put all that I need to in this chapter so that it can end with an incident that I've been planning for a plot twist. Hold on just a second ::evil laughter:: hehehe :: more evil laughter:: Ok, I think I'm calming down now. Read and Enjoy!  
  
  
  
The meeting took a while to start because there were several people who arrived late. Trunks looked visibly jealous when Pan walked in next to Mirai, but he calmed down when she smiled at him. Pan chose to sit next to (GT) Trunks on one of the couches.  
  
Both Pan and Trunks couldn't help but notice the way Marron and Mirai were ignoring each other. But neither of them noticed that the other seemed to know what was going on between them also.  
  
'That's funny. Marron keeps looking over at Mirai too. I wonder if she likes him.' Thought Pan.  
  
Little did Pan know that Trunks was observing the way Mirai glanced at Marron. 'So maybe he does like her too. I wonder why they keep fighting then.'  
  
When Goten and Bra landed outside the house Bulma practically interrogated Bra on where she was and why she was with Goten. Not wanting to let everyone know about the flying lessons she froze. Luckily Goten interrupted saying that he asked her to help at the Dojo, where he instructs children on learning Martial Arts, since the other instructor was out sick.  
  
While Bulma accepted the answer, Pan, Trunks, Marron, Vegeta, and Gohan couldn't help but wonder how she taught children Martial Arts when she doesn't even know how to throw a punch. 'Something's up between them' thought Trunks, immediately jumping in to protective older brother mode. He relaxed when he reminded himself that it was Goten, his best friend. And he knew that Goten wouldn't hurt his sister for any reason.  
  
Vegeta just scowled, 'Damn why does she have to start hanging around Kakkarots Brat. It's bad enough that she's friends with Kakkarots grand brat and baldies daughter.'  
  
With everyone there Bulma started the meeting. Marron tossed everyone 5 bottles of a pinkish liquid. They just sort of turned the bottles in their hands and tried to study it.  
  
"What is this?" asked Gohan, eying the small container curiously.  
  
The others looked to Bulma for an explanation as well. "Well, this is the vaccine I've been working on." She said, proudly displaying the bottle in her hand.  
  
" I suppose you're wondering why I asked you all here."  
  
"Well yes, the thought did cross our minds! Aren't you just supposed to go administer this to people now?" asked Krillen.  
  
" Well normally yes, but in order to immunize the entire population with out causing wide spread panic Marron and I have developed a product which will build up resistance to the disease when inhaled. Now to make sure everyone in the world breathes in the medication we have to make sure that a sufficient amount is evaporated. What you are holding is an extremely concentrated form of the vaccine. That is why I asked you all here. Marron and I have targeted key bodies of water to dilute the potion in, we just need to get the potion there. So we figured since all of you can fly, it wouldn't be difficult for you to go to these areas and pour the potion in. Any questions?"  
  
"Yeah. Are you sure that they will be 100% effective?" asked Bra.  
  
"In all the tests we made it successfully wiped out the virus, but there is still a chance that 1 in 8 billion might contract the sickness," Answered Marron. "But Bulma has plans to continue working on the cure so that hopefully we can help any one who contracts the disease."  
  
"So when and where do we go?" asked Krillen.  
  
"Well, since Gohan is going on a cruise with Videl that leaves in the morning, I was hoping that you could all dispense the cure today. It is only 4: 30 after all. And then we can all eat over here for dinner."  
  
"Leave it to mom to plan a party at a time like this." Pan heard Trunks mumble under his breath. She nudged his side and smiled at him.  
  
"Ok, so where do we go?"  
  
  
  
It was around 6:00 when people began to arrive back at capsule Corp with the empty containers. They had successfully emptied the solution where they were told, and could do nothing but wait. Needless to say everyone was happy to see food when they returned from the flight.  
  
Bra (who couldn't fly) stayed home and cleaned her room after begging her mom to let Marron and Pan stay the night. Luckily for Bra her mother temporarily forgot about her grounding and agreed.  
  
Bulma had called Chichi, Videl, and 18 over after the others took off. They spent their time in the kitchen gossiping and cooking the huge feast that would be easily devoured in a matter of seconds by the always-hungry Saiyans.  
  
When everyone returned to Capsule Corp they started the meal falling into a casual conversation. The girls were making plans about what to do that night while the boys' just sort of listened whishing that they could be there too. After a while they started to listen to the adults conversation, which was far less interesting.  
  
"What type of cruise are you going on?" Bulma asked Videl.  
  
"Oh it's just a 2 week cruise to Hawaii and the Bahamas. It's sort of an early anniversary present."  
  
"Oh so it's just you two? Where's Pan going to stay? We have extra guest rooms you know. We'd be more than happy to let her stay with us." Encouraged Bulma.  
  
Pan froze. This was supposed to be her time alone. As much as she loved the idea of staying at Capsule Corp, she didn't think she could stand being so close to Trunks every second of the day.  
  
Videl, sensing her daughters discomforted smile jumped in with an excuse. "Well thank you Bulma. We gave her that option but she insists that she will be fine alone and that we need to stop treating her like a child. It's probably a good idea anyways. At least she can look after the house."  
  
Bulma laughed. "You're not worried that she'll throw a big party and trash the place?"  
  
Bra looked over at Pan from across the table. "That would be fun." she started with a mischievous smirk.  
  
"Well that's what I'm worried about but Videl keeps telling me to trust my daughter." Said Gohan, glancing at his daughter with a look that seemed to say "Don't you dare."  
  
"I know that if Vegeta ever took me somewhere I wouldn't let Bra and Trunks stay here alone. I would hate to see how much they could destroy."  
  
Pan laughed. "You probably wouldn't have a house to come back too."  
  
Bra laughed too. 'I wonder what type of party I could throw if they ever left me here alone.'  
  
"Well Pan, if anything happens you can always call us or just come over here." Offered Bulma.  
  
"Why do you have to invite her? She's always over here anyways regardless of whether or not she's been invited." Vegeta grumbled.  
  
Bulma kicked him under the table and just smiled at Videl. "Well we really should be leaving now. We have to be up early." Gohan spoke after studying his watch.  
  
Within a total of 30 minutes everyone left except for Pan and Marron. "Come on Bra. Let's go watch some movies."  
  
After the girls went upstairs Capsule Corp was mainly silent, except for the sound of keys tapping in Bulmas' lab.  
  
Bulma was hard at work completing the Cure. There was a large purpose for her to be working so diligently. 'I have to finish this soon.' She thought.  
  
After a few hours of messing with formulas and chemicals she leaned back in her chair. Pulling a small paper out from the pile she sighed. 'I can't believe this.' She thought, rereading the letter from Mirai Bulma to herself. 'I wonder if I'm doing the right thing by keeping this a secret. I know that everyone would worry way too much if they knew but.I suppose I don't have a choice. I hope I finish this in time.'  
  
Bulma continued to work through the night, only taking breaks for cups of coffee and resting her hands. The last thing she thought before she fell asleep on the computer was: 'Dende Please help me find the cure.'  
  
  
  
It was morning at Capsule Corp and all 3 girls woke up with a single reminder. 'The weekend was over. It was Monday and that meant that they had school. It was the last week of school and thankfully only a 3 day week.'  
  
They all climbed up off of the spots on Bra's floor where they collapsed the night before when they heard the sound of her alarm. "Why is your alarm going off?" asked Marron, finally throwing a discarded shoe in the direction she heard a loud buzzing. The shoe hit the alarm clock so hard that it flew into the wall and broke into several pieces.  
  
"My alarm? Oh my, is today Monday?"  
  
".Oh yeah, it is. I can't believe your parents let us spend the night on a school night."  
  
"Well they must have forgotten just like us because they were concentrated on the vaccine and everything."  
  
"Well if they forgot then we can just say we forgot and go back to sleep. Who cares if we skip?" Pan said lying down on Bra's bed and holding onto the pillow as if her life depended on it.  
  
"Skip? We can't skip Pan. There are only 3 days left, and we have Finals today. We can't miss it, or else we'll have to go to summer school." Bra said, suddenly getting up and rushing quickly.  
  
"I don't like the idea of summer school. It's just something about school in the summer." She said matter of factly. "Ok Ok, I'm getting up. I should probably hurry so I don't get another tardy. I really don't want detention after school." Pan said, rolling off the bed and looking underneath for her over-night back pack.  
  
The three girls checked the time and quickly got dressed. Marron knew that it wouldn't matter if she were late to work because chances were that Trunks would vouch for her. It really helped to be friends with the president of the company you worked for. She threw herself together as fast as the other girls and assured them that she had her car capsule and would drive them to school.  
  
Marron left the room and ran down the hall. She opened the door to Trunks' room and threw a book at his sleeping form. "What the." He was cut off when she flipped on the light switch. He cursed sitting up quickly and trying to adjust his eyes to the sudden light. "Wakey wakey. I can't let you sleep in all day!" She said in a soft motherly tone.  
  
"What the hell? Marron? Why did you throw a book at me?" he complained, throwing it back towards her head. "Turn of the light, I want to sleep in."  
  
Marron dodged the flying book and pointed to her watch. "It's Monday morning. You have work. I need to drive your sister and Pan to school so I'll be late getting to the office, and by the looks of it so will you."  
  
She turned around and left the room meeting Bra and Pan in the hall. Considering that they put themselves together in less than 10 minutes they still looked great. They had already washed and brushed their teeth, pulled their hair back so they wouldn't have to deal with styling, and gotten dressed.  
  
"Did we forget anything?" asked Pan worriedly. Each girl inspected each other carefully. They discovered that Bra had accidentally put on one blue and one black sock and that Marron needed a belt with her outfit. After they fixed the minor details they went down stairs hoping to grab a bite of food to eat in the car.  
  
While they were relieved to see that they had 5 minutes before they usually leave, they noticed that there was no food on the table. Bra noticed her mother asleep in the lab and decided not to wake her since she was obviously up late last night, and really needed some sleep. They grabbed their purses by the door and left to go to Marrons' car.  
  
On the way to school they briefly stopped at a drive through doughnut shop and ordered a few dozen glazed. After splitting the cost they started to eat while Marron went speeding down the streets, turning the radio back on full volume since they were away from the drive through window. By the time they arrived in the school parking lot they realized that they had about 5 minutes before the bell rang.  
  
This time neither Bra nor Pan commented on Marrons reckless driving. They were too busy flipping through their books that they had left in the car on Friday, trying to quickly cram for their finals. Luckily no policeman caught them for running 2 red lights, 4 stop signs, and going well over the speed limit by more than 20 mph.  
  
Bra pulled out her purse and started to apply a minimum amount of make up, she didn't need the make up but she always insisted on wearing it. Pan went to work on Marron's hair by French braiding her pigtails so that she would look less rushed when she entered the office.  
  
After a quick inspection Bra and Pan left the car. "Thanks for the ride Marron. We owe you. Do you think you can pick us up?" asked Pan hurriedly since they just heard the first bell in the back round.  
  
"Wait. No, I promised Goten that I'd help him at the dojo again today; I was just going to walk over there after school. Since Pan can fly you don't need to drive all the way out here."  
  
Marron said 'goodbye' and drove back towards Capsule Corp quickly.  
  
"Helping my Uncle again? May I ask why you are so insistent on helping him? Especially when you don't even like fighting."  
  
Bra just shrugged her shoulders casually, "I figure mom might un-ground me if I do something 'meaningful and responsible' or something. Besides, Goten is nice to hang out with."  
  
Pan quirked an eyebrow but said nothing. It was obvious that there was something going on which Bra did not want her to know. Well that just meant she'd have to find out about it another way.  
  
They rushed into the building and parted ways in the hall. Each went towards their own classes, hopefully prepared for the big tests.  
  
Neither girl saw each other the whole day. Bra left directly after school and started walking towards the Martial Arts Dojo nearby, where she knew Goten would be waiting for her. She had called him on her cell phone during lunch and made plans to schedule their flying lesson for after school. Since he didn't have any lessons to teach after 4 O'clock he agreed to meet her outside.  
  
When she arrived he picked her up and flew towards the same area. Bra couldn't help but feel the same wave of familiarity when they neared it. 'How do I know this place?' she thought frustrated, but decided that if it was important then she'd remember eventually. 'I just won't think about it. I'll probably remember when I'm doing something else.'  
  
Goten flew over the lake and looked at her with a smirk. "Don't you dare drop me again Goten." She warned, her voice low in her throat.  
  
Goten smiled and landed next to the water. "Ready?"  
  
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Pan also left the school quickly. She forgot to prepare herself for one major thing that day; Jeremy died Friday and by then everyone would know about it. She spent the whole day trying not to burst into tears each time someone passed her in the hall and said that they were sorry about Jeremy.  
  
Even the teachers gave her sympathetic looks and special treatment since they knew that Jeremy and Pan had been dating.  
  
The hardest part was seeing Sarah Deleon in the hallway.and knowing how much Jeremy cared for her.  
  
Pan somehow got through the day and wanted nothing more than to go home and have some time alone.  
  
She flew to her house quickly, not noticing Goten and Bra flying in the other direction. She walked in and sighed. At least her parents weren't there to ask how her day went.  
  
Knowing that they most likely left a note, Pan walked to the kitchen and saw a paper taped to the fridge. She pulled it off and sat down to read.  
  
***************************************  
  
Dear Pan,  
  
I taped this note to the fridge since I knew that would be the first place a Saiyan goes when they get home. I just wanted to tell you that I went shopping and stocked the house with enough food for a week. I know that you can cook but I left some money on the counter in case you felt like eating out or ordering food. There is also money in the cookie jar so you can go grocery shopping when you run out of food. I hope there's enough, but if you run short then just take a loan from Bulma and we can repay her when we return.  
  
I hope you have fun while we're away. (You're father said "Not to much fun.") Remember, no parties, but you can have a friend or two over to spend the night if you want. We'll be back in two weeks.  
  
We love you,  
  
Mom and Dad.  
  
****************************************  
  
Pan looked over at the money on the counter and smiled. "I guess this means Pizza tonight."  
  
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Marron arrived at work late, but her boss didn't notice since he was late too. Marron was one of the vice Presidents in charge of Capsule Corp, and since Trunks, the President, was late to work she wasn't noticed sneaking into her office 20 minutes after 9:00.  
  
Since she had taken yesterday off to help Bulma in the lab she knew that there would be tons of work to do. She sat at her desk at looked at the stack of papers in front of her with disgust. 'I really don't feel like doing this. I just want to go back to sleep.' she thought.  
  
At around 2 in the afternoon Marron's secretary told her that Bulma needed her help again today, and to give her paper work to Trunks to finish.  
  
Not wanting to be the one to tell Trunks that his workload doubled, she gave the papers to his secretary and quickly went downstairs to Bulma's lab. 'I wonder what she wants. We finished the vaccine already, and she said she could handle the cure on her own.'  
  
Marron walked inside and frowned. Bulma was wearing a pair of reading glasses and bent over several sheets of paper. "Did you want something Mrs. Briefs?" she asked formally.  
  
Bulma looked up and smiled weakly, "Don't act so business like around me. Just call me Bulma when we're alone. Didn't I tell you that already? Oh well never mind, I need your help with the cure, it's going to take a couple days but you're the only one I can ask since no one else knows about the formulas."  
  
Marron nodded her head before asking, "Why are you in such a hurry to make the cure?"  
  
She looked up from her work and lied easily. "There is already one case reported in South Africa that I've come across. We need to make the cure just in case anyone else catches it."  
  
Although Marron could see straight through her lie she decided not to ask the real reason. "So where should I start?"  
  
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An) Well here is the next chapter. I appreciate the reviews, and I'll try and start the next one tonight. 


	11. 'Bulma! Bulma Help!!!'

An) I'm writing another chapter now, sitting in front of the computer, listening to about 6 CD's on random, and typing away. I think my English teacher would be proud; I've actually used a thesaurus once or twice. Then again that may just be because it's summer and my brain is taking a holiday so I have forgotten my vocabulary, but oh well. Anyways, here's the chapter.  
  
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Bra was sitting on a tree branch next to Goten, legs dangling in the air, and hair waving in the wind. She had been listening to his flying instructions and basically came to understand that in order to fly you have to feel threatened or afraid to a point where flying would seem your only option to reach safety. They both figured that Bra didn't fly with the 'Elevator Drop' because she was expecting him to catch her, and she didn't feel threatened by landing in water.  
  
Using her delicate charm and subtle hints she steered him away from the topic of flying so that they could just enjoy a peaceful afternoon. From the tree branch she could see the whole valley around them, and still couldn't shake the familiarity of it. She was glad that it didn't make her frightened to be in a place she felt she should remember but couldn't, in fact the familiarity of it just made her more relaxed there. As if she had nothing to be afraid of and nothing to worry her. Or maybe that was just being around Goten...  
  
"At least we don't have to worry about that disease thing from Mirai's world now." she commented, breaking the silence.  
  
Goten, who had been busy relaxing to the sound of the breeze shifting through the leaves sighed. "Yeah, and Mirai doesn't seem quite as depressed as he did when he first arrived. I think Pan brightened him up."  
  
Bra smiled, "Yeah, she has that effect on people. I think they are good friends, Pan seems to be doing better considering Jeremy..."  
  
Goten nodded his head. "I hope she's doing ok, living alone I mean."  
  
She couldn't help but laugh. "Goten, you worry too much, you're starting to sound like your brother. We aren't going to let her shut herself away from the world so don't worry so much."  
  
"I guess you're right, I just get this feeling around her. Like she's still really hurting, just hiding it."  
  
"She seemed fine last night, but then again she did seem a little detached at times." Commented Bra. Soon her face lit up with a devilish smile, "That is why the sooner we set her up with my brother the sooner everything will be ok."  
  
He chuckled at her enthusiasm. "You always fix other people up Bra, what about yourself? You don't have a boyfriend..." Goten said, trailing off when he realized that that was what he was thinking, and he didn't intend to say it out loud.  
  
"Yeah well I'm trying to get someone to notice me but it's not quite working..." Bra looked at Goten from the corner of her eye, wondering exactly what he was hinting at.  
  
"Not working? Is he blind or something?"  
  
"Not really, just a little oblivious. I've got a plan though; anyways we need to focus on Pan and Trunks first. Or maybe Mirai and Marron..." She said, shifting the subject away from herself.  
  
"Mirai and Marron? You think that they'd be good together?" asked Goten with a startled expression and tone of voice.  
  
"Don't you?"  
  
"Well yeah, but how? That's going to be hard to work out, they both seem so intent on hating each other."  
  
"I think for those two it might be better to wait for some time to pass, maybe they can."  
  
"Time? Wait a second, what time is it? I promised Mom that I'd be home at 6:00." Goten said nervously.  
  
Bra looked at her watch and frowned. "It's 5:50 now. Go ahead and fly home Chichi might be worried about you, I brought a capsule car."  
  
"You sure? I could fly you home..." he offered.  
  
"Don't worry about me Goten. I don't want you to be late, then Chichi might not let you stay so late at 'work'." Bra giggled.  
  
Goten smiled and kissed her cheek with out thinking. "Um...bye." He stammered before flying off quickly towards home. 'Why did I kiss her? I know I like her and all, but this wasn't the way I planned it to happen. I hope she doesn't take it the wrong way, or the right way.Damn."  
  
Bra sat frozen on the tree branch. 'He kissed me? Why did he kiss me? Does this mean he likes me? Wait a second Bra, calm down. He just kissed you on the cheek; it probably means nothing. Just wait to see if he mentions it before you start jumping to conclusions. Oh, I hope it meant something."  
  
The endless streams of thought flowing through her head were immediately put to a halt at the sound of her cell phone ringing. Jumping off the tree she picked it up.  
  
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It was probably around 5:00 or so, but neither people working diligently in the lab had any idea about the time. Marron was beginning to worry about Bulma. Every so often she would hear the genius start mumbling something about 'damn genes, nothing to be proud of' and something along the lines of 'gets it from father, so stubborn.'  
  
Marron wondered if the lack of sleep was beginning to be detrimental to her judgment and mental capacity.  
  
The two had been at work all day long, and Marron was starting to feel the damage due to 8 hours of working on her feet and skipping lunch.  
  
"Bulma, when do we get a break?" she complained, sitting down and massaging her ankle.  
  
"Ok Marron, you can take a break just as soon as you run this sample to the toxic disposal unit across the hall."  
  
With an irritable groan Marron took the small test tube from the older woman's grip. She slipped out of the room and walked down the hall.  
  
Right when she turned the corner she felt her whole body shoved against another's, and then thrown back by the force. "Watch out." She snapped, checking to make sure that the contents of the tube didn't spill.  
  
When she looked up she met cold blue eyes and a rigid face that she really didn't want to see. Mirai Trunks mumbled "sorry" and then walked past her, down the hall towards Bulma's lab.  
  
'Did he just say sorry?' she thought for a moment, glancing back at his retreating form. 'Hmm I wonder if he's settling down. He doesn't seem as mad as he was yesterday.'  
  
Mirai walked to his mothers office grumbling 'Great, I just HAD to run into HER! That's just going to throw my whole day off.'  
  
He walked into the office and narrowed his eyes. 'She's working way past her limit. What's the big deal anyways?'  
  
"Mom? Need any help?" he offered politely.  
  
She just looked up and seemed to panic. "Mirai? What are you doing here? No I don't need help, Marron is being the perfect helper."  
  
Bulma returned back to her work, unable to witness the deep scowl that crossed her sons face.  
  
A muffled ring suddenly broke the silence and caused Bulma to jump up startled. "What? Oh it's just the phone. Mirai, would you be a darling and answer it for me?"  
  
Mirai searched for phone, or any trace of it beyond the small noise. He noticed a cord along the wall and followed it. After searching under a couple books and papers he finally spotted the small object and retrieved it after only 4 rings.  
  
"Moshi Moshi, Capsule Corps. Bulma's office."  
  
He heard a faint grunt come from his mother and barely heard her comment "Just like the other Trunks, so formal on the phone."  
  
"Hello, I was just trying to reach Bulma. Can you tell me if Marron is over there?"  
  
Bulma looked up and motioned for him to toss her the phone.  
  
"Hello Ju.Yes.Yeah she was helping me with some lab work.Ok.. well we're probably going to be working all night.ok.then I'll send her over there for dinner.yeah.no she was staying at her apartment, but I suppose it might be easier to let her stay in a guest room.Ok.Yeah.hehehe.We really need to get together with Chichi to spend another day at that spa.. yeah I could use something to calm my nerves.Next Thursday.sounds great.see yah then.bye"  
  
"You're friends with 18?"  
  
Bulma tossed him the phone and smiled. "Yeah of course."  
  
"Why?" he asked disgusted.  
  
"Why do you have such a huge problem with my mother?" he heard a voice asked behind him. Bulma and Mirai looked to see Marron standing in the doorway  
  
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Pan had originally planned on ordering pizzas, but then decided against it. She would prefer to order pizzas when she had the girls over. Now she was leaning over a stove, trying to cook the rice.  
  
She was at a point in cooking where she just needed to stir the pots every few minutes, and make sure nothing boiled over when the phone rang.  
  
Crossing the kitchen to pick up the receiver she pulled the cord back with her towards the stove.  
  
"Whatcha want?" she said plainly. She was looking forward to a night alone, no responsibilities, no people to deal with, no worries, no reminders, and definitely no interruptions.  
  
She was answered with a warm laugh. "Wow, you don't sound to happy to talk on the phone"  
  
"Trunks is that you? What do you want?" she said, calming down when she realized that it wasn't the dreaded telemarketer that usually called at that time of the day no matter how many times they 'requested' to be taken off the list. And by requested I mean threatened.  
  
"Oh I just thought that since you were going to be alone tonight, you might want to come over and help me with the budget. We didn't get it done yesterday you know."  
  
Pan bit her lip. A whole night alone with Trunks? The temptation was heard to bear.  
  
"Sorry Trunks, I have another final tomorrow, and I'm going to be stuck studying all night, and lets face it. If I went over there I wouldn't get much studying done." she lied.  
  
Trunks laughed on the other side of the phone. He had hoped that she would agree. "Well that's ok. Maybe some other time if you're up to it."  
  
"Yeah sure, look I gotta go, the rice is about to boil over."  
  
"Rice? You're cooking food? Do you think you can bring me some? I haven't had anything to eat for a few hours."  
  
Pan laughed. "Sure Trunks, I accidentally made too much anyways, I'll drop some off when I finish eating. I really need to go now. See you soon."  
  
Pan hung up the phone and sighed. "Well there goes 'no interruptions'."  
  
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"I mean, it's obvious you dislike her. First you accuse me of taking bitch lessons from her, and now you don't want your mother to be friends with her. Why?"  
  
Obviously showing that he had no idea she was there by the look of surprise on his face, she could tell when he recovered and his face turned into a scowl. "I don't know, I guess I have a thing for hating non-human psycho killers like her."  
  
"Who the hell are you to talk about my mother? You don't even know her!"  
  
"I know enough!"  
  
"How? By making snappy judgments about her based on her past? Tell me, have you even spoken to my mother since you've returned to this time line?"  
  
"No, but I don't need to."  
  
"Is that why you dislike me so much? Because you have some sort of disillusioned impression about my mother?"  
  
Bulma took a few steps backwards, attempting to leave the lab. She expected things to blow up between them eventually; she was just hoping it would happen after she finished her work.  
  
"I hate you because you remind me of your mother! That's enough of a reason!"  
  
"Well in case you haven't noticed, I'm NOT MY MOTHER!"  
  
"Yeah, you're her daughter. 'Like Mother like Daughter.' It's obvious that you are just like her."  
  
"Oh, 'like father like son?' If I were you I wouldn't be so proud about being the bastard son of Vegeta.  
  
"Bitch. Don't talk about my father. You don't have the right to insult the royal Saiyan bloodline."  
  
"No! YOU don't have the right! Why don't you step off your throne and 'mingle with us peasants' for a change? I don't care what your problem is with me but you need to pull that stick out of your ass and realize that you aren't the Prince of a race at all so quit acting like your better than everyone else. If you haven't noticed, Vegeta-sei has been destroyed."  
  
"Maybe you should stop pretending to be little 'miss Goodie two shoes' and realize that your mother isn't some sort of Saint so you should stop protecting her like she is!"  
  
"My mother is not a saint. I never said she was. She's made mistakes just like everyone else. But she's changed and pushed those mistakes behind her, we all have! Everyone else knows that she's changed, why can't you accept that?"  
  
"I can't accept that because people like that don't change! How can anyone stand her being their mother? Much less their friend or husband!"  
  
"I'd rather have my mother than your father. It's obvious that he has screwed up your emotions and attitude way beyond repair!"  
  
Marron turned and left the room. She took about two steps before she froze. She didn't hear him yell after her and that was really weird. She looked through the window of the lab and saw his feel. He had collapsed.  
  
"Bulma! Help!" She screamed, looking around for the blue haired lady in a panic.  
  
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"Hello?" Bra answered clicking the 'talk' button.  
  
"Bra honey, it's mom. Look, we have a situation down here. Mirai's been hurt and I need you to get down here right away."  
  
"Hurt? Mom what happened?" Before Bra could ask Bulma hung up the phone.  
  
'Oh my god, I need to get down their fast.'  
  
And then, with out even thinking about it she lifted off the ground and started to fly towards Capsule Corp, letting her instincts lead her.  
  
When she landed on the lawn outside she looked around, amazed that she had actually been able to fly. There was no one there to witness the event, and for that she was silently thankful later. 'I will keep this to myself for now. I'll tell Goten tomorrow.' She thought, stepping into the house and rushing towards the medical department.  
  
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An) Oh no! What happened to Mirai? Will Bra tell Goten that she flew? Will Pan show up at Capsule Corp with food and find Mirai hurt? How does everyone react? What does Marron think? Will Mirai wake up? All these answers and more, coming up in the next chapter.  
  
Review!!!!! 


	12. 'There's nothing you can do honey, you c...

AN) Hey everyone! Sorry this chapter took so long, I was trying to decide which direction I wanted the story to take, and I had to make up my mind before I could write the chapter. There were two different ways that I was planning on doing the story, and I finally decided on one of them!  
  
Disclaimers: For all of you who didn't know, I don't own DB/Z/GT or any of the characters (It's so sad! I wish I could own them!!! ::hits head:: hehe sorry, I need to keep reminding myself that they aren't real!)  
  
Well, with out further ado, here's the chapter!!!!!!!!!!  
  
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Pan was standing in her kitchen, in about the same stance that she was in before Trunks called. She was leaning against the counter stirring the rice slowly, head bowed and a few defiant strands of hair sprawled across her face despite the numerous times she tucked them behind her ear.  
  
Completely oblivious to the panic ensuing across town, as well as the quick demi-Saiyan entering her kitchen, she had no time to react when two unknown arms switched of the stove, pulled her out the door and into the air.  
  
After shaking the surprise from her face and mind, she realized that she was being cradled like a baby and soaring high above the ground. Right before she attempted to attack the stranger, she caught a glimpse of lavender from the corner of her vision and relaxed. It was only Trunks.  
  
"Um Trunks? Do you mind telling me why you scooped me out of the kitchen, and where we are going that requires us to fly so quickly?" she inquired with a puzzled expression displayed across her face.  
  
"We're going to Capsule Corp. It's an emergency." he said hurriedly, as if a longer explanation would delay them from reaching their destination in time.  
  
"Oh well, you know I can fly Trunks." She stated, slightly annoyed at the fact that he interrupted what was supposed to be a quiet night alone, and yet unable to control the little voice in the back of her mind that screamed with glee 'I'm actually in Trunks arms!! He's actually carrying me.'  
  
"Yes I know you can fly Pan. But we're in a hurry and I didn't have time to explain." He expressed, quickly remembering about the rush and increasing his speed.  
  
"Can you explain now?" she questioned with an arched eyebrow, finally able to silence her mind and slow her rapid heartbeat. 'This better be important. He ruined my dinner.' she thought angrily.  
  
"All I know is that Marron called me and told me to get you and Goten to Capsule Corp. right away, so I paged Goten and flew over to get you as quickly as possible. I don't know what happened but it must be bad because Marron was crying."  
  
"She was crying? We should get over there quick, hurry up!"  
  
"I am hurrying." He said, putting his full power into the flight.  
  
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Bra landed in front of Capsule Corp and ran inside. If she were thinking clearly rather than in a panic, she would have not only rejoiced in flying, but in the fact that there was no one around to witness it. The last thing they needed was more rumors about the Briefs, and if someone saw her fly it was guaranteed that she would make the front cover of every tabloid on the market.  
  
She actually stopped inside the doorway to think for a moment. She was planning on locating their Ki's to reach Marron and her mother, but she heard footsteps nearby and followed the sound instead.  
  
She soon turned a corner and gained a worried expression. Marron was pacing back and forth in front of the medical lab mumbling incoherently and shaking her head trying to convince herself the opposite of what she believed.  
  
Bra sprinted over to Marrons side in hopes of discovering what happened and consoling her obviously miserable friend. By the time she was at her blond friend's side Trunks and Pan flew through a nearby window and landed beside Marron.  
  
Taking a precautionary step in avoiding embarrassment Pan jumped out of Trunks arms as quickly as possible and seemingly before anyone could witness his arms holding her up.  
  
"Marron, are you okay? What happened!?" Bra was extremely worried and barely noticed Trunks fly in with Pan in his arms, barely.  
  
Her shaky voice attempted to answer and explain everything, but she didn't have much to tell. "We were yelling and he.he just collapsed. As far as I know he's still out cold, but Bulma hasn't told me anything."  
  
"I'll go see if I can find out his condition, mom might need help," stated Trunks who quickly vanished behind twin swinging doors.  
  
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It was now nearing 6 o'clock and the only perceived sound was the constant ticking of the clock mounted on the hallway wall. The ticking remained constant and never changing in pitch or tempo, however for the 3 girls sitting on the hard uncomfortable chairs against the wall, the sound seemed to get louder and faster as the time slipped away.  
  
"What are they doing in there?" whined Pan, breaking the silence and tension in the air. Unable to just sit down and worry she let the curiosity get the best of her, and walked towards the door to peer through the small window.  
  
"I don't know, but I can't stay still, the suspense is killing me." Grumbled Bra, striding down the hall to stand next to Pan.  
  
"How could this happen? I feel so bad. This is my entire fault; if I didn't yell at him like that he wouldn't have collapsed. I just couldn't help it, he made me so mad." Marron mumbled to herself, not caring that her two Saiyan friends had exceptional hearing and probably caught every word.  
  
Pan and Bra were back in the chairs beside Marron with comforting looks and soothing tones.  
  
"It's not your fault Marron."  
  
"You're not to blame. We don't even know why he collapsed, it's probably not even closely related to the fight." Pan said, uneasiness clearly evident in her voice. 'Oh great, so first I'm hoping that it's just stress that knocked him out, and now I'm hoping that it's some sort of illness or something!' thought Pan in confusion.  
  
"Would you mind telling us about the fight? It might make things better." Offered Bra with a reassuring smile.  
  
"Well." So Marron relayed the encounter from her point of view. She cringed when she repeated some of the harsher dialogue exchanged and timidly looked up to see her friend's reactions when she finished.  
  
Bra and Pan were in slight shock, but quickly recovered. "Marron, it's not your fault, you did what any of us would have done in your situation."  
  
"Don't worry about it. It sounds more like his fault then yours."  
  
The two girls continued to console their friend, although neither was actually able to put her at ease. She couldn't help but still feel a nagging feeling that she was completely responsible for the situation.  
  
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The medical lab was quite a scene. In the center of the room lay a body, soundlessly enveloped in the unconscious, wrapped in a white sheet and laid across a stiff metal examining table. Beside him were three machines set up to monitor his breathing, heart rate, and brain signals. Sitting in two swivel chairs on his other side were two figures, one quite closely resembling the mother from his time, and the other an identical twin to himself.  
  
The two figures sitting nearly shoulder to shoulder to each other, each bore a solemn expression that was clearly evident in there posture, facial features, as well as the gleam in their eyes. Neither bothered to speak of the situation, the situation that was so clearly defined on a small sheet of creased paper handed from mother to son.  
  
The young lavender-haired man carefully refolded the paper, not quite knowing what to do. He had previously stormed into the room and faced his mother with so many questions, so many questions that were so easily answered in a small letter. He feared facing the truth as a reality, much as he feared having to go out and help his mother explain the situation to the anxious girls who he knew wouldn't take it lightly.  
  
"When did you first read this?" he asked quietly, not wanting to break the silence but needing to know some answers.  
  
"The first time I went through the papers." She said equally quiet.  
  
"Why didn't you tell us sooner?" he questioned, raising his voice to show anger, but only reflecting pain in his eyes.  
  
"I didn't want people to worry. I was hoping to be able to fix it before this could happen."  
  
"So you were the only one who knew?"  
  
"Yes." She breathed. "I suppose we should go out and explain the situation before he wakes up."  
  
"How long will that be?" Trunks asked while standing up next to his mother and placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.  
  
"I don't know, it depends. He fell because the sudden chemical change in his brain left him weak, but he's unconscious because he bumped his head on the table. So it could be hours, minutes, or tomorrow before he awakes.we're just lucky the concussion isn't that bad."  
  
Trunks just nodded his head and lead his mother out the door, drawing in a deep breath as caution before he faced three worried inquiring faces.  
  
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Goten quickly rushed over to Capsule Corp, flying through the same window that Pan and Trunks previously entered. "Sorry I'm late, Mom made me eat before I could come over here. I started eating as soon as I got the page. What's going on?"  
  
A moment later the medical lab doors swung open and Bulma and Trunks stepped into the hallway before the three frantic girls could attempt to answer Goten's question.  
  
"Why don't we all calm down for a moment and go into the living room? Trunks and I will fill you in with everything we know."  
  
Goten, who was didn't even know that Mirai Trunks collapsed, followed as quickly as everyone else, very eager to discover what happened.  
  
Bulma took a seat in a large chair in front of the room, idly watching her son stand beside her, Marron Bra and Goten sitting on the couch in front of her, and Pan leaning against the wall near the couch and the door.  
  
"I'm sure you are all wondering about what happened is I will explain everything right now. All I ask is that you hold any questions till I finish."  
  
Relieved to witness everyone nod their heads she began her explanation, already knowing that they would most likely jump at questions whenever they could get a work in rather than wait until she was finished.  
  
"Well, I suppose I should just go right out and say it rather than hold you all in suspense. The reason Mirai Trunks is unconscious is because he hit his head against the table." she started.  
  
Marron lightened up slightly, thinking that the situation wasn't nearly as horrible as she imagined, she didn't feel that way for long.  
  
"But the reason he fell in the first place is the real cause of alarm. Because of sudden chemical changes in his mind he was left weak, and undoubtedly collapsed and hit his head as a result."  
  
"Why were there sudden chemical changes in his brain?" asked Pan, obviously worried about her new friend.  
  
Bulma sighed; she knew someone would ask questions before she could finish. "Well, that is the real cause of concern. I have discovered that he is afflicted with the same disease that destroyed his time, the same disease that we worked so hard to prevent in this time."  
  
"Why didn't he show symptoms of it before then? I thought Saiyans couldn't get it!" asked Bra in a panic, sliding to the edge of the cushion and leaning forward.  
  
"According to the data he brought with him symptoms would show as soon as they contracted the disease, but since there were no other Saiyans, there was no way to tell how their blood would handle it. Thanks to his fathers blood there was a delayed reaction. I don't know weather to curse his Saiyan genes because it might have a different effect on him then humans, an effect that we may not be prepared for, or if we should be grateful for them because they delayed the disease and will hopefully allow us more time to create a cure."  
  
"Is that why you were working on the cure even after we finished the vaccine? Did you know that he had the syndrome?" Asked Marron, who surprised herself by finding her voice to question what was on her mind.  
  
"Yes I knew about it." Replied Bulma, quickly continuing before more questions could be asked. "The affects caused by this are unknown simply because he is the first Saiyan to be infected by it, but if it in any way resembles the damage done to humans, then we will all need to cooperate."  
  
Bulma continued to explain the matter, carefully explaining that it would affect him much the way that amnesia would. He would most likely not remember himself, and possibly not any of them, but he would have a clear definition in his mind of who he is and how he acts.  
  
"It would probably be best for everyone to try not to anger him. The last thing we need is an angry and powerful fighter who might not remember his own strength and would therefore not have his usual self-control. So I must ask all of you to go along with whatever he thinks, says or does. Do you all agree to play along?"  
  
Bulma watched everyone nod his or her heads again and couldn't help but feel relieved. She continued talking and explaining about how his behavior may be altered, and about different circumstances that could arise. She was trying desperately to prepare them for any situation.  
  
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Pan listened with the others to Bulma's explanation and held back the tears that were threatening to spill. 'Oh my Kami, he could die? It's not fair, I won't let you take someone away from me again.' She thought angrily, remembering that the disease caused death and destruction in Mirai's world.  
  
She stealthily slid towards the door and left the room, earning the attention of no one except for a pair of blue eyes that followed her movements until the door shut. 'I just need some air.' She thought bitterly while walking across the kitchen and towards another door, 'I just need everything to go back to normal.'  
  
She left the house all together and stood on the porch. Her first instinct was to go to her parents and she blasted off for home with out another thought. When she reached the house the icy wind racked her body and she walked into the dark house. 'It's so empty' she thought helplessly and turned on the lights, searching for her father. 'Daddy always makes everything better' she thought, remembering various times in her childhood where her father comforted her.  
  
When Goten called her names and she went home crying, it was her father whom she ran too, and her father who beat Goten up.  
  
When she was hurt after a sparring match, her father was the one to kiss the bruises, or give her a senzu bean.  
  
But she was struck with the icy awareness that she hadn't actually gone to her father for advice, or comfort since she was a child. She learned to take care of herself when she was hurt. When she started high school and began to have 'boy problems' she refused to go to her father thinking he wouldn't understand. She always took care of things herself.  
  
Jeremy was one of the first people besides Bra whom she felt comfortable enough around to actually discuss problems with. Bra was always busy since it was her senior year, so Pan started to go to Jeremy instead. He was a good friend to her, and even though they weren't in love they were very close. But he was dead, and she couldn't turn to him for help.  
  
When Mirai Trunks showed up, he somehow became the person she could confide in. He was the one who understood her pain when she found out that Jeremy was dea... no.gone. And he was the one who she could talk to about anything. But now he was dying, and according to Bulma would most likely not remember them.  
  
She sat down on the couch in her living room trying to sort out her feelings. "There has to be something I can do to fix this," she thought out loud. "What would dad say if he were here? He'd probably say something typical like 'There's a reason for everything that happens honey.' 'Don't worry, everything will be ok' or 'There's nothing you can do honey, you can't change the past'" she said, trying to remember comforting phrases that he used to speak. Somehow they weren't as comforting now as they were when he was the one speaking them to her.  
  
She stopped talking and her eyes widened in hope. "That's it!" she jumped off of the couch suddenly struck with an idea as she thought about the comforting phrases. She flew out the door and towards Capsule Corp.  
  
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AN) Ok, so did you like this chapter? Well why don't you review!!!!  
  
What does Mirai do when he wakes up? How does he act? What is Pan's idea? How does Marron handle Mirai's new image? Does Bra tell Goten that she flew? Find out in the next chapter of Holding On!!!!!  
  
Oh yeah, REVIEW!!!! REVIEW!!!! REVIEW!!!! REVIEW!!!!! (Do you get the message? I thought it was more clear then subtly hinting that the more good reviews I get, the more inspired I will be to write the next chapter sooner.) REVIEW!!!! REVIEW!!!! REVIEW!!!! REVIEW!!!! REVIEW!!!! 


	13. Mr. Huglesbee

AN) Hey everyone. Here's the next chapter.  
  
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Pan had returned to Capsule Corps to find that everyone was still occupying the small hallway. After a moment of hesitation she turned back and returned home, ultimately deciding that there were too many people present to carry out her plan now.  
  
The house that she returned to was dark. Still uninhabited by anyone, and seemingly just as lonely and quiet as she felt. The moonlight that streamed through the windows cast eerie shadows across walls and furniture, creating a scene that much resembled condemned buildings where murderers and homeless people stalked in the darkness.  
  
Ignoring the eerie feeling, she walked across the room, only the idea of sleep keeping her focused on climbing the stairs to her room. Her body was tired, and she was near exhaustion. It was the last time, she decided, that she would use up all her energy flying back and forth over such a large distance at such high speeds.  
  
She walked like a zombie, making her way to the steps without being aware of anything. She didn't notice the blinking light on the answering machine, or the first step of the stairs, which she tripped over.  
  
Muttering curses Pan stood back up. After recovering her balance she concentrated on lifting one foot, and then the other. At an annoyingly slow pace she made her way upstairs, finally spotting her doorway and giving a small smile of triumph that no one would witness.  
  
Reaching her room she sighed and kicked off her shoes, completely comfortable in her safe haven. Scuffling her feet against the warm plush carpet, she closed the door behind her and sighed when she flicked on the light, illuminating the entire room with brightness. It was decorated much as it was when she was a child, except for a few new pictures and posters around the room, which Bra insisted she display to prove that it wasn't home to a tomboyish little 5-year old girl. Pan flicked off the light a moment later, deciding that it was too blinding.  
  
She let her eyes drift about the objects scattered around the room. On the floor near her feet lay a small unidentifiable object hidden in the shadows that now basked the room. Bending her knees, she scooped her hands near the object curling her fingers around it. She couldn't help the small smile that formed on her lips when she recognized what she held. The small object that she now cradled to her chest was a stuffed bear, one that had been in her possession since she was born.  
  
The bear of course was well worn with age, and had a couple stitches to mark former injuries where it bled soft cotton. It was missing one of its regular eyes, and in its place her mother had sewn a green button.  
  
Pan stroked the small bear fondly and smiled. It was always there no matter what happened. She never let her friends know that she still owned the small affectionate sign of childhood, but she knew that she would never get rid of it.  
  
"Huglesbee" she murmured fondly, pulling it closer. Her eyes again looked around the room, and fell to a complete stop at a picture on her night table.  
  
She could barely hold back tears as the image displayed in the silver frame brought back memories that she had unknowingly buried in the deepest recesses of her mind. It was taken at a park, about a week ago, at a time where everything seemed to make sense. Taken at a time when she didn't have to pretend that everything was ok.  
  
One of her arms let go of the bear, the other unconsciously tightening to the point where the animal looked as though it would burst and result in stuffing flying all over the room. With her free hand she picked up the picture and lay above the covers on the bed, resting her head in a mountain of fluffy pillows.  
  
Holding the picture up, the moonlight cast a small glare, blocking out the faces. Pulling it closer to her face, the glare moved away and the picture was clear. She sighed.  
  
'How could I have forgotten so easily? I was so busy with my own thoughts that I didn't even think about you! I'm not a very good friend am I? I should be mourning over you. But I can't, because every time I try and remember, and think about it, I start to cry. And I'm afraid that if I start to cry again, I might not be able to stop...'  
  
She curled up in the bed glancing back at the picture with near surprise. There was now a drop of water covering her face, and then another covering Jeremy's.  
  
That night Pan cried her to sleep, clutching her childhood friend 'Mr. Huglesbee' and a small-framed picture of Jeremy and herself.  
  
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Capsule Corp....  
  
It was the next morning when everyone woke up. Bra stirred slightly on the couch, wishing she could escape into peaceful slumber for a little longer. It was a very comfy couch. She knew that it was Tuesday and that she should go to school, but she truthfully didn't feel like it. She just wanted to hang around there and find out what was happening.  
  
Goten woke up in a chair next to the couch feeling a pain in his neck from the odd sleeping position. He stretched and released a big yawn at the same time, reaching his arm behind his head and scratching the back of his hair. Bra giggled at the adorable way he looked. She sat up on the couch and copied his morning ritual or stretching and yawning.  
  
"It's Tuesday. I gotta go to work, do you need a ride to school?" he questioned, standing up and attempting to smooth the wrinkles from his clothing.  
  
Bra shook her head. "No, I'm not going to go to school today, I think I'll just hang around here and see how Mirai's doing," she said just as a person walked through the doorway and into the room.  
  
"Oh no you don't young lady. This is your Senior year, and your last day of school. Go ahead, we'll take care of everything here." Ordered her mother, stepping through the living room and into the kitchen before she could hear her daughters reply. Bulma was on a mission, and the codename was Coffee.  
  
Bra frowned but sighed in defeat. "Ok, I guess." She whined sleepily. "But I don't need a ride Goten, I'll just drive, that way I'll have a way to get home." she smiled, wondering why she didn't just accept the offer to be held in his strong arms. 'I think that I must be going insane' she thought to herself.  
  
Goten smiled in sympathy. "I wish I could stay home too, I want to know when he wakes up, but work calls."  
  
Bulma walked back into the room and towards her lab, carefully sipping from a cup of steaming coffee.  
  
Goten yawned again while walking to the door. "Bye Bra. I'll see you later?" he asked, hinting a question of weather or not they would meet for a flying lesson.  
  
"Yeah I'll see you later." she smiled. She didn't comment on the fact that she could already fly, and that the lessons would be pointless now.  
  
Goten left the house, undoubtedly flying to his mother's for breakfast and to explain about what happened. He couldn't help but say a small prayer to Dende while he flew, praying that Mirai would be fine and everything would go back to normal.  
  
Bra climbed the stairs to her room, repeating a hasty put-together before running for food and dashing out the door. It was her last day of school, and she was determined to try and enjoy it.  
  
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In a nearby room lay an unconscious man with lavender hair, who unknowingly created quite an amount of worry by passing out. He was lying on a medical examining table, carefully being monitored by Bulma who kept pacing between typing at the computer and checking his heartbeat.  
  
In a nearby swivel chair sat a sleeping Marron. She had stayed awake working with Bulma until 3:00 in the morning, but because she disliked coffee she fell asleep easily. She showed no signs of stirring from her present position, and Bulma couldn't help but check her pulse to make sure she was still alive. 'Yep, she still has a pulse. She is out cold.'  
  
Bulma glanced at her son, immediately dropping Marrons wrist when she saw his eyes flutter. He was waking up. "Marron, Marron. Wake up!" she ordered, shaking her shoulder.  
  
Peering through half closed eyes Marron groaned. "Just 10 more minutes, please!" Marron didn't get what she wanted. With a swift kick and pull, Bulma rolled the chair out from under Marron and dropped the blonde girl on the floor.  
  
"What the...what did you do that for?" complained Marron, standing up and rubbing her eyes. She completely ruined the affect of sounding mad when she yawned and smiled a little.  
  
"I think he's waking up," whispered Bulma.  
  
Marron snapped her head in the other direction. Mirai had rolled over on his side and kicked some of the sheet off of him. "Well I suppose it's a good sign that he moved. He didn't move all night. He'll probably wake up in a little while." she asessed. Marron couldn't help but continue to stare, 'Whoa, he looks really cute when he's asleep..oh great what am I thinking?'  
  
"I wish I knew what to expect." Murmured the youth's mother.  
  
"You know more than expected Bulma. You said yourself that he will most likely suffer from a type of amnesia. So we just go along with it right? Just until we finish the cure?"  
  
Bulma nodded her head. Both girls kept their eyes locked on the body in the center of the room. Their eyes widened as they witnessed him stir in his sleep and then lay still. It was definitely going to be a long day.  
  
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(GT) Trunks, like his mother, was still awake. He was in his office typing up the final draft of their budget report. He had worked all night on it when his mother kicked him out of the lab. She said that he was annoying her by looking over her shoulder and asking so many questions. The only way that he could keep his mind off of the fact that Mirai was hurt, and the pain and sadness he remembered seeing in Pan's eyes, was to lock himself in his office and work continuously through his agenda for the next week.  
  
He sighed and hit the send button, forwarding the report to his mother, major stockholders, and everyone else that required a copy. 'Well I'm done with that. What should I do now?' He glanced at his desk and frowned.  
  
He had been working so hard last night that he even organized the desk. His usual system of digging through messy piles and drawers to find what he needed was changed. The stack that he made of things that needed to be done was completely empty. 'Great, I finished all the work I had this week. Now what am I going to do?'  
  
Glancing at his wristwatch he frowned. It was only 10:00 in the morning. 'I might as well try and fix some breakfast.' he thought, feeling his stomach growl.  
  
He walked out the door and smiled at his secretary, ignoring her puzzled expression.  
  
She looked oddly surprised to see him, probably because he usually completely disappeared for most of the day. She couldn't figure out how he could leave his office with out her seeing. But somehow he did. Usually she would go in to hand him a report and the only trace that he would leave to show that someone was in the office would be the opened window.  
  
"Hello sir." she chocked out, her voice sounding just as surprised as she was.  
  
Trunks chuckled. "I'm not ditching work today," he assured her. "I stayed up and finished all the paperwork, including the budget. I'm going to take the rest of the day off. I've got a great idea, why don't you just turn on my voicemail and take the day off too. There's no more work to be done for now, so there's no use in staying." Trunks smiled and walked away.  
  
The secretary just watched him leave and shrugged her shoulders. Who was she to question his odd behavior? She didn't mind having the day off.  
  
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Pan was half-asleep in her bed when she heard the phone ring. She pulled the comforter over her head and tried to drown out the noise. 'I'll let the machine get it. If it's important then they'll leave a message,' she decided, waiting for the answering machine to pick up. When the ringing stop she pulled the covers down and curled up to her pillow. Surprisingly she felt pretty happy this morning, not quite awake enough to remember the previous day. She didn't notice the small picture frame and teddy bear on the floor near her bed, or the salty taste on her lips and skin from her tears.  
  
She could barely hear the voice on the answering machine as the noise seeped through the thin walls. "Hey Pan, it's Trunks. I was just calling to see if you could help me make breakfast, but I forgot that you are probably at school. Call me when you get home."  
  
'I don't think I'll go to school today. I doubt can handle another day of everyone apologizing about Jeremy and everything.' She thought, destroying her happy mood at the memories. She sat up in bed and blinked her eyes a few times, trying to adjust to the sunlight as it flowed through her window.  
  
Pan groaned and looked at her watch through squinted eyes. It was 10:15. "What time did I fall asleep? It feels like I only got 2 or 3 hours," she complained.  
  
She quickly remembered everything about Mirai and frowned. She had flown to Capsule Corp in a hurry the night before in hopes of carrying out her plan, but flew back home just as quickly when she realized that there were too many people there.  
  
"I guess I'll have to get to work," she thought, deciding to put her plan into action.  
  
Pan pulled herself out of the room and to the kitchen. She stood in the doorway for a moment in thought before she reached for the phone. Pizza would have to do for breakfast. After calling in a large order she fixed a glass of orange juice and set it on a table. Then she turned to the counter top and grabbed a few objects.  
  
Sitting down with a pen and notepad, Pan started to write what appeared to be a list. She just sat there staring at the paper for a long time before she began to write, and then a minute later she crossed out most of her words.  
  
Her face was laced with a look of concentration. She continued to write short phrases on the paper when she heard the doorbell. "Pizza" she thought excitedly, jumping up immediately to claim her meal.  
  
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Trunks muttered to himself while he sliced the long loaf of bread and proceeded to layer turkey, lettuce, ham, and everything else he could find in the fridge onto the bread.  
  
'I can't believe I called her. How could I forget she had school? I hope she's ok, she looked really upset last night.'  
  
Trunks smiled at his huge creation, momentarily proud of his culinary skills. Then he swallowed it in two bites, smiling with satisfaction as it satisfied his Saiyan appetite.  
  
Licking his lips he turned to stare at the plate holding two smaller human- sized sandwiches. 'This is for Mom and Marron, you will not eat it.' He commanded himself, quickly picking up the plate and moving to the lab before he had the chance to open his mouth.  
  
"I come baring food." He lifted up the plate and smiled at the two women as he walked into the room. His eyes narrowed.. They were standing on the other side of the room staring at Mirai. Trunks glanced at his 'twin' curiously. "Is something the matter?"  
  
Marron and Bulma just continued to stare, completely ignoring Trunks. "Hello?" he asked, walking in front of their view.  
  
"What's so interesting?" he questioned when he saw that their eyes weren't locked on his 'twin' anymore.  
  
"Mirai was moving, we thought that he might wake up." Explained Marron, reaching over and grabbing a sandwich off the plate Trunks was holding.  
  
"Thanks for the food." Bulma said quickly, also grabbing a sandwich.  
  
Trunks stared at the two women trying not to laugh. "Are you sure you two aren't Saiyans? Because you grabbed and ate that food faster then Goten does."  
  
Bulma looked at him sharply but Marron laughed. "Well we haven't exactly eaten yet."  
  
"Will you go away? We're trying to watch Mirai. We need to be there right when he wakes up." Said Bulma, trying to look around her son.  
  
Trunks raised an eyebrow. "Well. if you keep staring at him, it will only seem longer until he wakes up. You know the old saying, 'If you watch a pot it won't boil.' What's the hurry? I mean what are we going to tell him anyways? If he doesn't have his memory then he'll want to know why he is here."  
  
Bulma stared at her son for a moment with a blank expression before breaking out in a goofy smile. "Well, I didn't really think about what to tell him. Any ideas?" she asked, glancing at the blonde beside her.  
  
Marron shrugged her shoulders and looked up in thought. "We could say that he was. walking by outside of Capsule Corp when some guys mugged him. It would explain the lack of ID and car keys and such." Offered Marron with a small smile.  
  
"Then we can just say that he had a concussion due to the attack and would probably not remember the last few hours, including the attack or his visit to Capsule Corp." Added Trunks. Both looked at Bulma for her opinion.  
  
Bulma smiled and nodded her head. "Good story."  
  
The two women went back to their jobs at the computer, leaving Trunks alone and bored. "Well, Pan's at school, Mom and Marron are busy, Goten's at work, I finished my work, I guess that leaves.Dad. I guess I can spar with him for a while." He reasoned, pausing to make sure there wasn't an alternative.  
  
Trunks left the lab and turned to his room. "If only I could remember where I put my training clothes capsule."  
  
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An) Ok, nothing really important happened in this chapter. It's just setting a mood and filling in time so you know where everyone is and everything. In the next chapter, Bra and Goten meet for a flying lesson, Mirai wakes up, and Pan attempts her plan.  
  
Read and review, I'll try to get the next chapter out soon. 


	14. And with out warning Marron found her li...

AN) I'm sorry it took so long for this chapter to get out, but I've been going through some personal problems lately and haven't exactly been my usual self. Well, I won't go off explaining my weird psychological problems and everything. I don't know how this chapter will turn out, I hope I won't make it depressing but it might be since that's how I'm feeling. So.... here's the chapter...  
  
Oh yeah ::text:: is the person's conscience speaking.  
  
  
  
  
  
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Bra walked down the hall with a frown across her features. She couldn't believe the day she had encountered. First, there was a long assembly on drunk driving held in the cafeteria, in memory of Jeremy Johanson. Everyone kept telling her how sorry he or she felt for Pan and she couldn't help but wonder how Pan was dealing with all of this. The constant reminder of his death had to be bothering her friend.  
  
It was lunchtime when Bra realized that Pan didn't have to deal with the constant reminder because she had skipped school. It didn't matter very much since they weren't really doing much the last day, but she couldn't help but feel jealous that her friend got to stay home, and she didn't even get to stay home to see how her...brother was doing. It was now the end of the day and Bra wanted nothing more than to go home and sleep. Tossing and turning in an uncomfortable chair the night before was not her idea of a good night's rest.  
  
She then remembered that she had a flying lesson with Goten and sighed. 'At least maybe he can brighten up my day.'  
  
Her legs effortlessly strolled her out of the tall building and down the sidewalk towards the Dojo where Goten worked. She crossed the street and turned the corner with out thinking. Well, without thinking about where she was going. In fact she was doing a lot of thinking, mainly about what she was going to do.  
  
'Come on Bra, make a decision! I have two choices. I can tell him the truth that I can fly now and thus end all flying lessons with him, and probably any chance that I have with him, or I can lie and continue to go to the flying lessons. It should be an easy decision. Mom always told me that "honesty is the best policy" but I don't want to tell him the truth. He may not want to spend all this time with me, but I don't want to give it up. I know he has to find out I can fly SOMETIME, but...a little later won't hurt anyone.'  
  
  
  
"Hey! Bra!" A voice behind her yelled, causing her to stop in her tracks and turn around.  
  
The tall figure jogged forward to meet her and she looked very puzzled. "Where were you going?" He inquired with a spark of amusement in his eyes.  
  
Bra looked around and blushed. "Oh whoops. I guess I wasn't thinking and just walked too far." ::You weren't not thinking, you were thinking about something else. Tell him the truth::  
  
"That's okay. Are you ready to go?" he asked, slipping his arm around her waist.  
  
::This is when you're supposed to tell him that you don't need to go. You don't need the lessons anymore!::  
  
Ignoring her conscience and leaning into his warm embrace, Bra nodded her head and he lifted them off the ground. They flew in silence towards their training spot. "Why do I always feel like I should know this place?" Bra murmured to herself.  
  
Goten landed on the ground and smiled discreetly. "Maybe you do. Don't worry, if you've been here before you'll remember eventually."  
  
She gave him a deciphering look but shrugged her shoulders when she realized he wasn't going to explain what he meant. "So, where do you want to start?"  
  
::You don't need to start, you've already finished on your own::  
  
"Well, I know you've been flying a billion times with other people, but I'm going to take you up again and we're going to try something new."  
  
Bra took a cautious step back and held up her arms in self-defense, "You are not dropping me in that lake again Goten." she warned.  
  
His face gave off a hurt expression, but his eyes shone with laughter. "Who me? I would never do that to you!"  
  
With narrowed eyes she let down her defenses and hid a smile as he picked her up with one arm under her knees, and the other supporting her neck.  
  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------  
  
The monitors in the room were making constant beeps in a high-pitched computerized tone. The two women in the lab were leaning over a desk and silently scribbling figures on a sheet of paper, altering formulas and trying to find an answer. In the center of the room lay an unconscious lavender haired demi-saiyan.  
  
*Beep* "Do you think we should substitute this part into part B of the formula too?" *Beep*  
  
The two women continued to discuss the complicated rows of endless numbers and formulas. *Beep*. "I don't why you asked me to help you, I never was that great at chemistry."  
  
*beeeeeeeeeeeep*  
  
The two women heard the long beep, causing their breath to catch in their throats. Their eyes briefly met each other's in a look of panic, and then diverted to the center of the room.  
  
On the small computer monitor there was a startling display of a flat line where his heartbeat was supposed to register.  
  
With the blink of an eye, and speed previously thought only reachable to Super Saiyans, they were at his side trying to find out what was wrong.  
  
Marron sighed in relief when she noticed that the reason his heartbeat wasn't registering was that the finger glove that monitored it had fallen off. (AN: When I got out of surgery they monitored my heart on this little thing that snapped onto my finger, and it kept falling off and it gave me a flat line.) She slipped it back on his finger and froze.  
  
Her hand was suddenly enveloped in warmth as his hand closed around hers. Marron looked at Bulma in surprise and saw the same dumbfounded look on her face, but her eyes were focused elsewhere. Marrons eyes drifted to where Bulma was looking and gasped. Trunks was lying still on his back, his eyes fluttering gently in the bright light.  
  
Marron tried tugging her hand from his and frowned. His grip only tightened to prevent her leaving his grasp. What was she supposed to do? A day ago she was so angry with him she could hardly breath, but with the discovery of his condition the hatred somehow turned to commiseration. But the compassion in her heart was wearing thin as their last conversation replayed in her mind. She had to fight hard not to punch him where he lay when Bulma shot her a pleading look.  
  
"Remember the plan. Play along!" The scientist mouthed across the table with a desperate look.  
  
Marron nodded slowly, the hair in her ponytail falling across her shoulder.  
  
"We need to ask you a few questions to make sure you're alright. Can you tell us your name?" Bulma asked in a professional tone. If he didn't know who he was, or worse if he thought he was someone else then she'd have to play innocent scientist who was helping a passerby that was mugged. The mugged part would at least explain lack of identification.  
  
The lavender haired Saiyan squinted his eyes and groaned. "I'm ok mom."  
  
Marron frowned, if he knew Bulma was his mom then why the hell was he holding her hand?  
  
Bulma sighed in relief. "Thank Kami, we were so scared you'd have amnesia or something."  
  
Trunks accepted his mothers outstretched hand and pulled himself into a sitting position, at the same time hesitantly let go of Marrons hand to prop himself up.  
  
"Ow...what happened?" He asked, sliding of the table to stand on the cold floor. Shivers ran through his bare feet and up his spine and he hopped from one foot to the other sending a pleading glance to Marron.  
  
With a raised eyebrow, and an amused expression dancing across her face she kicked a pair of sandals towards him from underneath the table. He smiled and mouthed "thank you" to her with a wink.  
  
Bulma's eyes narrowed. Something was definitely wrong, if he was so angry at Marron before then why was he being nice to Marron now? With a hasty decision she decided not to tell him the truth. It was best not to let him know about the disease until after they had a cure.  
  
"Well, you were training and things got a little rough, we found you passed out on the gravity room floor."  
  
Mirai seemed to accept the explanation and stretched. "So can I go now?"  
  
Bulma nodded her head warily and walked with Marron over to the door.  
  
Mirai Trunks walked behind them and took a step out the door before turning around and giving them the shock of their lives.  
  
With a sincere grin he leaned towards Marron's ear and whispered softly. "I'll see you after work honey." And with out warning Marron found her lips captured with his in a demanding yet gentle kiss. Leaving all occupants of the lab completely silent and dumbstruck.  
  
He released her and turned around, walking out the lab and down the hall towards the executive elevator that led straight to the president's office.  
  
  
  
AN) Sorry this chapters so short. Who's going to kill me? Just be nice, all (well most) will be explained in the next chapter, which I hope to have out sometime tomorrow. Why did Mirai Trunks kill Marron? Will Bra ever tell Goten she can fly? What is Pan doing at home all day? What is Trunks doing since he finished all his work early? 


	15. She was completely oblivious to the pair...

Fanfiction.net 

Here's the next chapter, I hope you like it! Well, I the last one Mirai finally woke up, stay tuned to find out what mayhem will occur next! 

**

"Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it." -Helen Keller

**

************************************

About the same time that Bra left for her flying lesson with Goten, her friend across town woke up from a nap. Pan sat up slowly, chasing away the last fleeting moments of her dream before checking the clock hanging above the fireplace mantle. It was time. 

She climbed the stairs while setting her hair in a ponytail, only a few defiant strand falling in front of her face. Laid neatly on her bed were the clothes she would need. Once dressed she examined her image in the bathroom mirror. The black ensemble she wore was easy to move in, and helped make her stealthier. Her cheeks still had tearstains, and she cursed before splashing water across her face. 

She had that dream again. It was of the night she met Jeremy, she was leaving a party and about to fly home when he drove by and offered her a ride. They weren't exactly friends at the time, but she recognized him from some of their classes together and knew they had mutual friends. 

She accepted the ride, not even considering that she didn't really know him, something about his eyes told her to trust him. And besides, it's not like he could hurt her. 

The two talked in the car and he behaved like a perfect gentlemen. He was a perfect driver, she remembered, and even offered to teach her when she told him she hadn't learned yet. 

When they stopped in front of her house she opened the door and put one foot on the pavement before turning to offer him her phone number. It was that moment that he leaned over to ask for her number and their lips met. Though the kiss was short and sweet they both blushed furiously before laughing. The next day they went on their first date. 

Pan looked back in the mirror and sighed, 'I wonder if this feeling of having absolutely no control over life is ever going to end.'

She went back to her room and looked around out of habit before retrieving a key from an old coat's pocket in the back of her closet. She spun the key in her hands and admired the small light reflection patterns it cast on her closet door. 

Snapping out of the trance she pulled a small box out from behind her CD player and sat on her bed. 

Her fingers fumbled but despite her shakiness she managed to unlock the box and flip the lid open. 

Inside were several personal items: A photo album, a small diary, and a strange looking bracelet. 

One hand drifted to the small silver item and stroked it softly. Boy did this thing bring back memories. She pulled it out and snapped it on her wrist, instantly feeling her Ki diminish. 

It was the beginning of the year but she could still remember it vividly. Bulma had created it in her lab, and foolishly left it out in the open. Pan had only meant to borrow it for one day, but she never got around to returning it. It was one of the biggest parties of the year, but her father refused to let her go since it started past curfew. 

Pan disobeyed him and snuck out of the house, using the bracelet to conceal her Ki so she wouldn't be detected. When she got home she felt so guilty that she locked it up, afraid that returning it to Capsule Corps would somehow alert her father that she snuck out. 

Pan locked the box and put everything back in their hiding places, trying to ignore the other memory that came with the Ki bracelet. The party that she snuck to that night was where she first met Jeremy. 

*****************************

Bra and Goten finally landed on the ground to relax. They had spent the last hour in the air just gliding, and flipping and laughing together. It was as if they had both completely forgotten about the flying lesson. Completely forgotten, or chosen to ignore? 

Bra lay back in the soft grass and sighed, her eyelids were so heavy that she didn't even bother trying to hold them open. 

Goten chuckled but lay down next to her and stared at the passing clouds. "Sleepy?" he asked. 

She murmured something inaudible and groaned causing Goten to laugh. He put his hands behind his head as a pillow, "I don't think I heard you princess..." 

Bra sighed and relaxed as the clouds covered the sun. "I said I didn't get much sleep last night on that God-for-saken chair." 

When she didn't hear a reply she opened one eye out of curiosity. A smile spread across her face as she beheld the site of Goten lying sprawled across the grass asleep, a small butterfly landing on the tip of her nose. Deciding that he had the right idea she too drifted off into dreamland. 

_Bra's Dream: _

It was obviously fall because the leaves were tinted orange and red. There were a few tents a mile away but she wasn't there. Instead she was running past a small lake, giggling the whole time. 

In front of her was the object of her chase, a 12-year-old Goten. Their feet scampered through the layer of leaves that covered the valley's floor. Bending her small legs she launched herself forward and tackled Goten, both falling to the ground where she pinned him. 

"I caught you," A 5-year-old Bra claimed, exhibiting a large grin with 1 missing tooth. 

Goten laughed with what little breath he had left. The whole group had been playing tag, but when Bra was 'it' she ran after Goten and chased him around the whole river valley for 2 hours. He stared up at his best friends little sister; she was a cute little kid. "You caught me. I guess I'm 'it' now"

Bra shook her head enthusiastically. "Nope!" 

Goten quirked an eyebrow, giving off a completely clueless face. She just sat there staring at him with a huge smirk on her face. The very look made him question what she was planning in that little head of hers. 

"Bra? What are you planning?" he asked, getting enough courage to ask why her eyes were suddenly flashing with mischief. 

"Nothing much...just wondering what I'm going to do with my prisoner that's all." she explained, her eyes wide an innocent as if she wasn't hiding something. 

"You're prisoner. I'm not your prisoner am I?" 

"Of course you are Goten!" 

Goten frowned and tried to sit up only to be pushed back down by her hands. "Nope, you're not allowed up till I tell you that you are." 

Goten laughed, he could easily push her off and get up but he didn't want her to be mad at him the rest of the day. Besides, he wanted to know what she was planning. 

"Well what do I have to do?" 

"For starters...as my slave..." Bra pondered, lifting a chubby finger to her chin and tilting her head to the side in thought. 

"Slave? I thought I was just your prisoner" 

"It's the same thing silly. You have to do what I say! Now for starters you have to clean my room, and then take me out for ice-cream, and then tell Trunks to stop picking on me, and then..." 

Goten groaned "Braaaaa, that's a lot of work. Can't you just choose one thing for me to do? Then let me go?" he asked hopefully, not liking the idea of picking up her room, although the ice-cream plan wasn't half bad. 

Bra frowned and then her eyes lit up. "Ok, I have the perfect thing for you to do! But you have to promise to do it!" 

Against his better judgment Goten agreed, what horrible thing could a 5 year old think of? 

"You promise? Good! You have to marry me!" 

Goten was in shock and immediately sat straight up, causing the young girl to slide onto his knees where she gave him a look of pure terror. Was he going to laugh at her? Tell her no? Crush her dreams? 

Although his first instinct was to laugh because he thought it was a joke he saw her face and controlled himself. "Uh...heh...Bra? Why would you want to marry me?" he asked, not quite sure how to handle the situation. Here was a little girl who he knew since she was born, his best friends little sister, talking about sharing a life with him, sharing an eternity. 'She doesn't know what she's talking about' he told himself. 

Bra frowned, not sure of if he was going to agree or not. "Well you're nice to me, you always protect me from Trunks when he tries to make fun of me, you're the closest guy I know that I'm not related to." 

Goten smiled at her enthusiasm. "Well Bra, I don't know if we can get married now, we're both too young. So let's make a compromise." 

"A comompize? What's that? 

"A compromise. It's we're we take part of your idea and part of my idea and make a new one." 

Bra narrowed her eyes 'Is he trying to get out of this?' She slowly nodded her head, indicating that she wanted to hear more. 

"Why don't we agree that when we're both older, if we haven't found someone else we'll give a relationship a try. I'm sure that you'll grow up to be a very beautiful woman and will no doubt make me fall in love with you if you still want me to." 

Bra tilted her head and sighed. It was better then nothing. "Ok Goten, but just to let you know, I will make you love me." With that she jumped up and ran back towards camp leaving a bewildered Goten sitting in the middle of the field. 

*********************************

Bra sat up immediately, the remnants of the dream still floating in her mind. Was it a dream? Or was it a memory? It was in the same place they were now, so could it be possible? 

Her face showed utter confusion and she glanced at the sleeping demi-saiyan next to her. 'If it was a memory then it would explain why this place seems so familiar but why did I forget it?'

Bra jumped to her feet and lifted off the ground. 'I need to go home to think' she thought before blasting off in the air and flying home. She was completely oblivious to the pair of eyes that watched her departure, a small smile spread across the persons face. 

*********************************

AN) Ok, so I didn't exactly get into the whole Mirai explanation, I promise that will come with the next chapter. I don't have school tomorrow due to a teacher in-service day, so I'll probably finish the next chapter then. Go ahead and review! Don't let me think I'm writing this for nothing. 

Oh and I'd like to thank AngelDust and Jami for reminding me that I needed to write more. Thank you both for inspiring me to write more. 

[My webpage!][1]

   [1]: http://www.geocities.com/dbzlo/



	16. With no final thoughts Mirai flew out hi...

AN) Sorry it's been so long, I've had some personal stuff to deal with lately. I hope you like this chapter. I plan to have the next one out soon (I mean it this time! I've already started to write it)  
  
"This is so, so stupid! stupid, Stupid, STUPID!" She muttered the litany to herself as she ran lightly up the staircase and hurried down the upstairs hall. She wasn't cut out for this sort of thing. Intrigue was beyond her. Underhandedness made her stomach churn.  
  
She pressed herself up against the wall and listened. It didn't sound like anyone was nearby. Faintly she heard the executive elevator and sighed, dismissing it as Trunks just returning to his office after lunch.  
  
She mentally went through her checklist to make sure the path was clear. Vegeta was probably training or something, he was never near this part of the house during the day anyways. Mirai, Marron, and Bulma would probably be in the lab, and Trunks was probably at his office by now. Bra? She was probably off on a rendevu with Pan's uncle.  
  
Slipping through the narrow doorway her eyes searched the room. "Now where would I keep my capsules if I had any to hide?" She pondered.  
  
Quickly she began to search his room, pulling opened drawers and checking under their content. A blush stained her cheeks as she searched through his underwear drawer. Hey, those capsules could be anywhere! She sighed in aggravation after searching the dresser, closet, coat pockets, pants pockets, and even the bookshelf. That damned Capsule box was nowhere to be found. She was almost done searching through Mirai's room too.  
  
She glanced around speculating. It had to be somewhere.  
  
Her eyes glanced around the room again, looking for perhaps a loose floorboard. She was at the point of frustration we all get caught up in sometimes when looking for something that we know is there, but can't find. Her searching eyes narrowed slightly again as she caught sight of the bed.  
  
Gently she tiptoed to it's side and in a split second dropped on her hands and knees, as if expecting the capsule box to hop up on legs and run away if it somehow knew she was close to finding it's hiding spot. Unfortunately the only thing she found underneath the bed was a crumpled up sweater and a lone shoe.  
  
Frustrated beyond belief she grabbed a hold of the nightstand and stood up, freezing suddenly as if she had heard the door behind her open. But no, the door was not what had caused her to freeze so suddenly. In fact the door was still closed and she was still alone in the room.  
  
Her eyes captured the piece of furniture where her hand lingered, her fingers tracing lightly across the wood. Tentatively she slid the drawer open, a huge smile spreading across her features.  
  
There, next to a pair of sunglasses and a phone directory was the object she had been searching for. The small silver box gleamed from the florescent light above them. Carefully she popped the lid open and smiled. There was the capsule she craved, the one she needed.  
  
She grabbed the small capsule and closed the drawer, briefly surveying the room to make sure she left nothing out of place. Everything seemed to be in order.  
  
Satisfied with her accomplishment she skipped over to the window and took off in the air, happiness was all she was capable of feeling, she didn't even notice the figure take off shortly after her. Pan Son was flying home, with a time machine capsule planted firmly in her grasp.  
  
**********************************************  
  
Trunks exited the gravity room, ignoring his father's insults. He had enough on his mind right now, he especially didn't need to hear Vegeta point out how he hadn't trained in too long, and how he'll never compare to Mirai.  
  
Trunks walked across the narrow strip of land in an attempt to reach the kitchen and cool down when a slight movement from his peripheral vision caught his attention.  
  
He turned his head and frowned. A petite figure with raven hair was flying away from Capsule Corps. And Trunks knew of only one female with black hair with the ability to fly. 'What was Pan doing here?'  
  
Now Trunks was naturally curious by nature, but at the same time he had just walked away from training with his father, which left him more then exhausted.  
  
Ignoring the fact that he was missing a shirt and that it was just starting to rain again Trunks took off in the air after her, making a slight change of course and a shortcut through a park he landed at her house shortly before her.  
  
Trunks needed to have a little talk with the youngest member of the Son family. And he wasn't going to let her ignore him this time either. No not Trunks Briefs.  
  
  
  
************************************************  
  
Bra landed on the lawn of Capsule Corps 2 minutes after her brother took off after Pan. But she didn't notice any of that. She didn't even notice the look of surprise on her fathers face as he stepped out of the gravity room and bore witness to his daughter flying. The only thing Bra noticed was the door, and as soon as she was inside the only thing she noticed was Bulma's lab.  
  
Bra walked in and froze; a look of puzzlement crossed her features. In front of her were Marron and her mother, both frozen from apparent shock? When neither of them moved or even seemed to notice she was there she raised her hand and snapped her fingers, which successfully snapped them out of their trance.  
  
'That was odd' they all thought at the same time, all though each for different reasons.  
  
"Mom? Marron? Why do you both look like you saw a ghost? And where is Mirai? Did he wake up? Is he ok?"  
  
Bulma shook her head from the onslaught of question her daughter was throwing at her. 'What the hell was that? Why did Mirai kiss Marron?' she thought, shaking her head and glancing at the blonde as if expecting her to read her thoughts and answer.  
  
Bra growled low in her throat, hating to be ignored. Forgetting her original reason for returning home she questioned again, this time Marron. "Marron where is Mirai?"  
  
Marron, recovering from a daze and trying to recall exactly what happened scrunched her brow. "I think he went to his office. Or rather.to Trunks' office."  
  
".." Bra was now about as puzzled as the other two women occupying the room.  
  
Bulma frowned "So apparently he awoke and now thinks he is our Trunks? Oh and what about Marron? He kissed her!" Bulma thought outloud, trying to figure out exactly what was going on with his mind.  
  
Both blue-haired women turned to stare at Marron who was now just standing there with a small blush staining the bridge of her nose and spreading quickly across her cheeks.  
  
"Details?" Bra coaxed with an eager smile.  
  
"He just said he'd see me after work, called me honey, and then kissed me! What am I supposed to do now?"  
  
"Humor him?" Bulma offered. Marron's eyes grew wide and she shook her head.  
  
"No! No way! We don't know how long it will take to fix the cure! I am not going to pretend to like him, much less date him! No way!"  
  
"Marron! You have too! Everyone already agreed to play along with whatever fantasy world he woke up thinking about! Please!"  
  
"No! Yesterday he hated me with a passion! And I shared that hatred! Why should I help him! I will help with the cure, but I am not going to pretend to like him"  
  
"Oh yes you are! Come on Marron! It won't be that hard. Just think of it as putting those great acting skills from High school to use!" Bra chimed in. "Please!"  
  
Marron grumbled under her breath. Oh great.fine fine.no way she was going to get out of this one. Maybe she could lie and tell him she's going to leave town to visit someone and then come back when they find the cure. No. He'd probably just insist on going with her. Damn it.how was she going to get out of this one? And another question.Did she really want to get out of it?  
  
**********************************************  
  
Mirai reclined in his designer work chair (Or should I say in GT Trunks' designer chair?). After coming to the office to discover a missing secretary he felt a little annoyed, but the thought of Marron made his day brighten.  
  
He was finally going to marry her! It was a week until the wedding, and he couldn't wait. There were no cold feet for him, he just felt like he had been waiting his entire life for this moment. And right now he didn't want to wait any longer.  
  
When he had woken up in that lab and seen her angelic face above his he prayed to Dende that he was unconscious the whole week and today was their wedding. But not every wish gets answered.  
  
He had waited 6 weeks (Or in his mind they had been engaged for 6 weeks), What was one more week? Other than torture? A long lasting pain?Ttoo much time?  
  
Perhaps it was a good thing he still had a week until the wedding. There was still one arrangement he had to prepare for. The honeymoon!  
  
Marron and his mother had been planning the actual wedding for weeks on end, but he told her not to worry about the honeymoon. That was his job!  
  
Now the only question left was where should they go? To be perfectly honest he had no idea what sort of wedding she had imagined, or what sort of dream vacation she wanted afterwards.  
  
But one person might know about Marron's childhood fantasies and what she imagined to be the perfect wedding.. And he had just decided to go ask that person for advice.  
  
After all.She was going to be his mother in law, he might as well have a little chat with her.  
  
With no final thoughts Mirai, ignoring the rain flew out the window in the direction a small island near bye. It was time to talk to Marron's mother.  
  
**************************************************  
  
An) Ok I know I'm pretty evil. For those of you who don't know what's going on, Mirai woke up and now thinks he's engaged to Marron (although Marron thinks he only thinks they're dating). Bulma, Bra, and Marron are the only ones who know he's woken up. Pan has flown back to her house with the time machine, but she doesn't know that Trunks is there waiting for her! Goten is still in that field getting wet from the rain.  
  
Next chapter: Will Bra remember her original question (have they ever been to that river valley)? Will Goten let Bra know he saw her fly? Will Marron find out that Mirai thinks they're engaged? What does Pan plan to do? And what does Trunks plan to do to stop her? And how does Marron's mother react when Mirai shows up and asks where to take Marron on their honeymoon? All this and more in the next chapter!  
  
Visit my website dedicated to the love of DBZGT Teens http://www.geocities.com/dbzlo/ 


	17. I’m supposed to make arrangements for th...

Oh yeah, for the person who brought up the point that Mirai should actually be older then Trunks because the disease had already destroyed his world and had yet to show up in this one.. well um (*Author struggles to think of someway to cover her mistake up with a stupid but plausible reason*) well you're right. Mirai should be older but um.I guess I'll have to go fix that. Thanks for letting me know. If anyone else sees a small or huge mistake ^_^ please let me know!  
  
Sorry I haven't written in a while.hectic holidays with tons of relatives and friends living with you doesn't allow much time to type at the computer. Sigh.here's the chapter  
  
  
  
***last chapter  
  
Satisfied with her accomplishment she skipped over to the window and took off in the air. Happiness was all she was capable of feeling, she didn't even notice the figure taking off shortly after her. Pan Son was flying home; a time machine capsule planted firmly in her grasp.  
  
Ignoring the fact that he was missing a shirt and that it was just starting to rain again Trunks took off in the air after her, making a slight change of course and a shortcut through a park he landed at her house shortly before her.  
  
Trunks needed to have a little talk with the youngest member of the Son family. And he wasn't going to let her ignore him this time either. No not Trunks Briefs.  
  
*************************************************************************  
  
Trunks walked into the vacant house and looked around. It still seemed in normal order since Pan's parents left for their cruise. It just seemed dark and dreary, like it was missing something. "Where's Pan?" he wondered aloud.  
  
Trunks glanced out the window and observed Pan landing nearby and dashing towards the door. He quickly sidestepped as the door was slammed open and barely missed smacking his face against the wall.  
  
He stood silently as she stormed into the kitchen, completely unaware that someone was walking slowly towards her. She took a pen and scribbled a quick note on a piece of paper before dashing out the side door to the kitchen and out to the back of the house.  
  
Puzzled, Trunks traced her steps to the table and found a small yellow 'Post-it' note with Pan's unmistakable handwriting scrawled across it. Trunks slowly read the note, reading over it a second and third time to make sure his vision wasn't failing him.  
  
Dear everyone,  
  
I know this may come as some sort of shock but I have made a decision. It is my fault that things are the way they are. I have gone back in time with Mirai Trunks's time machine to warn everyone and help with making the cure. I hope I can set things right again.  
  
Wish me luck,  
  
Pan  
  
He crushed the note in his grip and took off after Pan. He still couldn't sense her Ki, but he did see her at the side of the house. He ran after her and stopped a few feet away.  
  
She had already opened the capsule and stepped up to grab a hold of the entrance handle.  
  
"Pan"  
  
The name floated in space and silence, causing him to take another step forward and her to become tense and grip the handle tighter.  
  
*******************************************  
  
Marron grumbled under her breath. Oh great. Fine fine. No way she was going to get out of this one. Maybe she could lie and tell him she's going to leave town to visit someone and then come back when they find the cure. No. He'd probably just insist on going with her. Damn it. How was she going to get out of this one? And another question, did she really want to get out of it?  
  
Marron stared at the two eager girls. They had the same blue hair and the same unmistakable air of determination. There was no way either of them would let her get out of this.  
  
"Fine." She mumbled under her breath.  
  
Bulma gave a sigh of relief and muttered a quick thanks to Dende before turning. "Then I will work on the cure alone. You don't have to do anything serious Marron, just keep him away from the lab and don't let him get suspicious."  
  
Marron looked at Bra for sympathy but only found the blue-haired devil smiling with mischief. 'Oh no.' she thought. 'The last thing I need is Bra reading too much into this.'  
  
Marron walked out of the lab and towards her room. The words of Mirai were echoing through her mind. 'I'll see you tonight honey.'  
  
What was she supposed to do now? If she went to her apartment in town she wouldn't be here at all to help Bulma with the cure, but if she stayed here she would have to deal with seeing him all the time. It was official now. She was supposed to keep Mirai from getting suspicious. That meant away from the lab and unfamiliar things.  
  
The facts of the matter were that she wanted to be safe. If she went to her apartment there was no way to guarantee that he wouldn't want to stay the night with her. And if she stayed here.well lets face it Capsule corps. Is pretty damn big.  
  
That left one place.  
  
Her parent's house. As much as she despised the idea of bothering them and being around that pervert, Master Roshi, it was the only safe place she could go without worrying of going too far with Mirai.  
  
'Note to self, I'm going to have to have to start calling him Trunks instead of Mirai. Oh and I'm going to have to warn the real Trunks to stay away for awhile.'  
  
Marron walked out of Capsule corps with a checklist implanted in her mind. First: Ask her mother if she could stay there for a while. Second: Find Trunks and warn him to stay away. Third: somehow spread the word to everyone about Mirai's chosen mental state without causing too much attention and letting him catch wind of it. And fourth: find Mirai Trunks and spend some 'quality time' with him.  
  
She had a lot to do. And she was dreading every minute of it. Or at least that's what she kept reminding herself she should be doing. Truth for all, she was actually looking forward to the challenge. Or perhaps she was just looking forward to spending time with someone.  
  
***********************  
  
With no final thoughts Mirai flew out the window in the direction a small island nearby. It was time to talk to Marron's mother  
  
An unsuspecting Juuachigou was in the kitchen putting away groceries. (Sorry, I couldn't think of anything else for her to be doing.). What reason would she have to suspect that Mirai had awoken and taken it upon him to believe he was engaged to her daughter? Why would she even imagine that he was flying to the island this moment to ask about honeymoons?  
  
Well she may not of had any idea about those things, but they were occurring this very moment. As soon as Mirai set foot on the island he smiled and walked up to the house.  
  
He opened the door and walked to the kitchen. "Hello Juuachigou"  
  
Marron's mother turned and faced Mirai with wide eyes. The last time she heard about him he hated her and her daughter, and then he fell unconscious with that dreaded disease. But now, now he was standing, very awake and alert, in her kitchen.with a smile on his face?  
  
Something was definitely wrong with that picture.  
  
"I didn't hear you knock." She offered as an explanation to being startled in her normal monotone voice.  
  
"Why would I knock?" he asked gently. "We're practically family."  
  
Juuachigou knew for sure that something was wrong now. She remembered that Bulma warned everyone that he wouldn't be himself when.and if.he woke up. And if she knew anything right now, she knew he was definitely not acting normal.  
  
Bulma's voice rang through her mind as Juuachigou remembered that they were supposed to play along, and not confuse him no matter what.  
  
"Why don't we sit down? Are you looking for Krillin? Or Marron?" she asked, sitting across from him at the table.  
  
Trunks glanced around cautiously and smiled. No one else was around. "Well actually I was looking for you. I figured since you and Marron have been working so much on the wedding, you might be able to help me. I'm supposed to make arrangements for the honey moon next week and I thought you might have some ideas."  
  
Juuachigou stared at the lavender-haired demi-Saiyan with an unreadable look. Then again, she barely ever showed much emotion.  
  
"Wedding?" she asked after a moment. 'What the hell is this boy talking about? Why didn't Bulma call me and warn me he was awake and coming over here.'  
  
Trunks raised an eyebrow. "Yes, my marriage to your daughter. It's still going as planned right? The caterers didn't cancel again? I know we've had to postpone the wedding twice because we can't find caterers to host so many people, a few with Saiyan appetites. We're getting married on Saturday, with or without food."  
  
Juuachigou stared at the boy with concern for a moment, before the emotion passed and her face turned back to its normal statue like grace.  
  
"We might have to postpone it, I have to go over a few things with Marron and Bulma before it's set in stone."  
  
Trunks sighed and ran a hand through his hair, briefly wondering how he let it grow so long. "Well do you know where Marron might want to go?"  
  
"Why don't you ask me?" a voice came behind him. If Trunks were writing this he would have described the voice as if it were singing a song, because it happened to belong to his blonde fiancé. His blonde clueless fiancé.  
  
Trunks turned and looked at Marron as if he was a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar. If Marron hadn't been distracted she might have thought it was cute. But at the moment she was a woman on a mission.  
  
"Marron it's nice to see you." Her mother said with a kindness she reserves solely for her daughter and husband.  
  
"Well I should leave." He said getting up and kissing Marron on the forehead.  
  
"I will talk to you later Juuachigou." He said with a smile. "Have fun working on the wedding plans."  
  
"W.wedding plans?" Marron stuttered glancing at her mother and then Trunks.  
  
"Yeah, to think this Saturday you will be Mrs. Trunks Briefs. My wife."  
  
"W.wife?" she squeaked in puzzlement.  
  
"Well I better get back to work before mother notices I'm gone. But then again I only have to mention I was checking on my wife and she'll be distracted with the thought of grandchildren."  
  
"CH.children?" this time it was both Marron and her mother that spoke.  
  
"I will see the two of you later." He whispered to Marron. "I love you" His hand briefly passed over her stomach where he had the wild idea that she was holding their unborn child.  
  
He walked out of the house and flew back to work, planning on calling a travel agent as soon as he reached his office.  
  
Inside the kitchen Marron and her mother stood side-by-side in puzzlement. "I need to sit down."  
  
Juuachigou sat beside her daughter and sighed. "I'm guessing you just found out about this too?"  
  
"Why was he over here?" asked Marron cautiously.not quite sure if she wanted to know the answer.  
  
"To check on wedding plans, make sure the wedding wouldn't be postponed because of caterers again, and to ask where you would want to go on your honeymoon."  
  
Marron knocked her head against the table and groaned. "This Saturday he is going to expect us to be married, and less than 9 months from now he will expect a child. What am I supposed to do NOW?"  
  
  
  
An) Ok, so I know I'm evil. I just came up with the pregnant thing today, but the rest has been planned since the beginning. Originally I was going to have the T/P get together this chapter, but I decided to save it for next because I sort of lost the file I typed it up on.  
  
Sorry I haven't written in so long, but school starts tomorrow and I always have more time to write then because I write the chapter in study hall (no talking grrr) and then type it up at home.  
  
Please review and tell me what you think.  
  
Oh also.I need a beta reader to go over my chapters, you know check for grammar, spelling, stupidity.. If anyone wants to volunteer please e-mail me at  
  
ImaginativeOne1@aol.com  
  
Thank you so much.  
  
Oh and if you would like to receive an e-mail when I update, please e-mail me at the above address. ^_^ 


	18. 'Goodnight my princess.' He whispered in...

Ok, this chapter might be sort of short because I have to leave for somewhere in 30 minutes, and I will probably post it for whenever I left it off.  
  
This chapter is mainly going to be T/P  
  
Enjoy!  
  
**************************************************************************** ******************  
  
"Pan"  
  
The name floated in space and silence, causing him to take another step forward and her to become tense and grip the handle tighter.  
  
".Pan" He whispered painfully. He didn't need to ask what she was doing, nor why. All he knew was that he couldn't let her go.  
  
"Trunks just go away and let me do this." She said forcefully, not even bothering to turn and look him in the eyes. Somehow she knew that one look into his eyes would make reality come crashing down again.  
  
Trunks stood immobile, yet eager to reach out and hold the woman standing in front of him. "You know I can't do that Pan."  
  
Pan leaned her head against the cool metal and let out an annoyed sigh. "Trunks.please."  
  
He couldn't help it. She sounded so desperate and so alone. He took another step forward and watched horrified as her body tensed up and she began to open the hatch.  
  
He froze instantly.  
  
"Wait" he said. Another one syllable word that made her entire body stand rigid and her previous actions come to a halt. The hatch stood only an inch open.but from Trunks point of view that was one inch too many.  
  
"Pan please, just come inside and we can talk about this." He said earnestly. If he could just get her away from the time machine.  
  
"There is nothing to discuss. I made my decision. I have to fix things." Pan said quietly. The wind carried the words to Trunks and he frowned.  
  
"Things? What can you fix Pan? Even if you tried? What good would it do?"  
  
Pan looked angry, but still refused to turn and face Trunks. If she did he would notice the tearstains, he would notice her lip was still quivering. If she turned around then she wouldn't be able to turn back towards the time machine, she wouldn't be able to turn back time and fix everything again.  
  
"Pan.What are you trying to fix? It's not worth it. What do you think Mirai would say?"  
  
Pan sniffled, barely audible to Trunks, but he still heard. "I think he would agree. After all, it's his time machine, this is his second time going to the past to try and fix things." Pan explained. Surely Mirai would understand.but then again he probably wouldn't.  
  
Trunks was beginning to get frustrated, but all the more desperate to make a point. "And did that make him happy? What he changed were things to save his world too! If you go back in time you will fix things, but you won't be able to see them. You will have to come back home, where everything is the way it is now.Pan.don't you see?"  
  
She just stood there, letting the hatch automatically close. "See what?"  
  
"That you can't change the past. With all the time you spent with Mirai I thought you would understand that. You can make things different for a while, but then you have to return to your own reality. And you can't change things there."  
  
She let go of the handle and took a step back from the machine. Wordlessly Trunks encapsulated it and turned to her, stretching out his arms and pulling her into a comforting embrace.  
  
She cried on his shoulder, whimpering and mumbling an incoherent explanation. Trunks bowed his head and let his hands instinctively run through her hair in an attempt to comfort. He was at a loss at what to do or say, partly because of the reasons for her break down. He heard her mumble names. It sounded like she was whispering to Jeremy, and Mirai.  
  
'Pan, I care for you so much, and it hurts me to see you so upset, especially since the reason you are depressed isn't something I can fix.'  
  
Pan's crying started to slow down, and the only actual sounds to show how upset she was were the occasional sniffle. Her arms, which had found their way around his back, loosened and she took a half step away from him. Her hand smoothed his shirt and her eyes were concentrated on what she was doing.  
  
The two of them stood silent for a moment, the only noise that could be heard was the slight ruffle of leaves and their shallow breathing.  
  
Her head rose against her will, and sad black eyes met concerned blue ones.  
  
"Lets go inside." He said quietly, relieved when she nodded her head and gave a half smile. It was starting to get dark outside, and the cold wind was beginning to make her shiver.  
  
"Lets." She whispered back.  
  
************************************************  
  
Marron stayed with her mother until it started to turn dark outside. It was about 8 o'clock now and she was reluctant to return back to Capsule.  
  
After a conversation with her mother she sorted out everything she knew. Mirai had woken up and now believed he was the Trunks from this time. He apparently thinks that they are getting married this Saturday, and that she is carrying his child. There goes the plan to pretend the relationship isn't that serious.  
  
After her mother reassured her that she would spread the news about Mirai's condition, and tell Trunks to keep out of site until everything returns to normal, Marron left the house and began to fly towards Capsule.  
  
'Oh great. Just great. How come I always get stuck in these situations? How am I supposed to pretend I am in love with Mirai? And more important, if he thinks I'm pregnant, it means he thinks we've had sex. How am I supposed to get out of doing THAT with him?'  
  
Marron flew faster as she became frustrated. 'And what about work?! I'm sure he can handle it, but his secretary will definitely notice a difference. Then again she is pretty used to the weird things going on around here. I will just have to talk to her tomorrow and explain everything. Maybe she can baby-sit him at work while I help his mother with the cure.then maybe we can have it before Saturday.'  
  
She landed on the lawn of Capsule and sighed. If she could keep Mirai from knowing she was there, maybe she could help Bulma in the lab.  
  
She walked into the kitchen and stealthily made his way down the hall towards the lab.only to walk straight into a wall? No.it wasn't a wall.it was Mirai.  
  
"Uh.M..Trunks? Hey! What's up?" She stumbled over the name but recovered quickly.  
  
Mirai just smiled and reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "I was just waiting for you.I can't sleep alone, you know that."  
  
Marron swallowed nervously, there goes trying to stall sleeping with him. She gave a half-chuckle. "Oh come on Trunks, shouldn't we wait till after the wedding?"  
  
Mirai leaned forward to her ear. "You are pregnant with my child Marron, it's not like we have anything to wait for. Let's go upstairs."  
  
She slowly walked next to him, his arm wrapped protectively around her back. 'Oh great Marron.think of something! There has to be someway out of this.'  
  
Walking down the bedroom hallway she evaded his arm and smiled at him. "I'm going to shower and brush my teeth and stuff."  
  
Mirai just smirked. "I could help." He said huskily, completely prepared to follow her into the bathroom.  
  
Marron panicked and laughed nervously. "Actually I haven't had dinner yet." She began; knowing full well that there was no way a Saiyan would turn down food. "Do you think you could go make me a sandwich for when I'm done?"  
  
"How about we eat afterwards?" He whispered, pulling her into his room (Yes.I suppose it would really be Trunks' room, but since Mirai thinks he's Trunks.)  
  
"Ah..Well..I" Marron was at a loss of words as he pulled her into the bathroom and closed the door. She noticed he was reaching forward to hold her and turned abruptly, ready to wash her face.  
  
He was beginning to get annoyed because she kept evading him. First she washed her face, but when he tried to kiss her she just turned on the shower and then brushed her teeth.  
  
Marron wiped her mouth with the towel and wondered what to do next. There was nothing else to stop him. She stood up straight and felt his arms go around her as his lips found her neck.  
  
Slowly she undid her blouse, trying to think of someway out of this. She watched him remove his shirt and return to her neck, his hands reaching up to move her blouse off her shoulders until it fell to the floor.  
  
She took a step back and felt her foot land in a puddle of water, with quick reflexes she forced herself to fall backwards, knowing that Mirai would catch her before she hit the ground.  
  
Faithfully he did catch her, worry evident on his face. "Marron are you ok?"  
  
Leaning back in his arms she looked up and put on a pained face 'Thank you Theater classes' she thought silently.  
  
"Ow.I think I twisted my ankle."  
  
The mood was instantly ruined as he became worried and picked her up, one arm holding her back and the other under her knees.  
  
"Lets get you in bed."  
  
Marron lay in bed, silently thanking Dende that he bought her excuse. He left briefly to turn off the shower, but returned to kneel at her side and ask if she needed anything.  
  
"That sandwich I mentioned earlier would be nice."  
  
Mirai nodded and began to leave the room "I'll get you an ice pack too". "Thanks Trunks!" She called after him, not prepared for what he did next.  
  
He turned around in the doorway and smiled at her. "I would do anything for you Marron. I love you." And then he was gone. No doubt to get her a sandwich, and probably a snack for himself too.  
  
------------------------------------------------------  
  
Bra walked downstairs, her destination: her mother's lab. She had forgotten about her reasons for returning to Capsule Corps in the first place, but now she was fully prepared to ask the question that had been plaguing her thoughts.  
  
She saw Mirai exit her brothers' room and watched him run downstairs quickly. She noticed Marron's Ki inside and concealed a smile. Hopefully things would work out between the two.but right now she had her own problems.  
  
When she reached her mothers lab she silently watched her mother typing at the computer and then banging her head against the screen. She was so desperate to save Mirai's life, to save her son.  
  
Bra turned to leave not wanting to disturb her mom, but Bulma noticed her first. "Oh Bra? What are you doing here?"  
  
Bra smiled.'Might as well just ask' she thought.  
  
"Mom, I just had a weird dream, and I was wondering. Have we ever gone camping with the Son family? I think it was a river valley or something."  
  
Bulma removed her glasses and rubbed her eyes. "Well yes, as a matter of fact we have, why do you." She removed her hands and frowned when she saw her daughter had disappeared ".ask?"  
  
Bra ran up to her room and sat on the bed. 'Ok Bra.get a grip.this isn't the end of the world. So you went on vacation there.that doesn't mean the dream was real..Oh who am I kidding? Of course it was real! But why would Goten take me there? Of all places to teach me to fly.'  
  
Unconsciously she reached for the phone and dialed Goten's number. When he answered she wondered how to go about asking him. "Um Goten.It's me Bra."  
  
"Oh hey Bra, you left early from practice? Was there an emergency?"  
  
"Well actually yeah Mirai woke up, but that's not why I called. Can I..um.meet you tomorrow. I need to talk to you."  
  
"Of course Bra. I'll talk to you tomorrow. It's late why don't you get to sleep?"  
  
"I think I will Goten. Goodnight."  
  
She hung up the phone; not knowing that on the other end Goten was smiling. "Goodnight my princess." He whispered into the night air.  
  
---------------------------------------------------  
  
Vegeta (yes I've been wondering what he's up to this whole time too) was exiting the gravity room to eat, and then drag his wife to bed where he would help her.relax.  
  
He had tried to convince her to just let him beat the boy up. That would solve his amnesia problems right away. But she was insistent, saying it would do more harm than good.  
  
Of all the things to happen, this just wasn't his week. First he notices that Trunks has been dwindling in his training, most likely because his mind is focused on the youngest brat of Kakkarot's offspring. Now he notices that Bra can fly, and that she probably learned from Kakkarot's other brat. It would explain why their ki's are always together during the day. It figures that his brats would just HAVE to go off and get his blood tainted with that of the imbecile Goku.  
  
But to top it all off, he hadn't had a single night alone with his mate in a week, because of his Mirai brat.  
  
He glanced outside and knew it was well past midnight. Silently he strolled into his wife's lab and pulled her out of the chair, where she fell unconscious moments before.  
  
"Might as well go to bed tonight" he said out loud, climbing the steps with his mate held in his arms.  
  
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AN) I would like to thank Jami (Jami_chan) for her help, and for her asking her friend Alii (KiwiBug) who gave me the idea to have Marron 'Sprain' her ankle. Thank you both!  
  
Oh and Scarlett Fire, I e-mailed you about beta-reading, but didn't get a response so I don't know if you got the mail or not, but if you're still interested then please e-mail me!  
  
I hope everyone liked the chapter, the next one will be out soon I promise. I hope you all review!  
  
Oh and to make things clear, so far only Marron and her mother know the full truth about Mirai's condition. Bulma, Bra, and Vegeta know he's awake and think he thinks he's dating Marron, Goten just knows he's awake. And Trunks and Pan are in there own little world.  
  
Next chapter : Juuachi spreads the word about Mirai's condition, T/P moment, Mt/M awkwardness, and G/B confrontation are all coming up! 


	19. 'Holding on to someone is ok Pan, but I'...

A.N.) Sorry it's been a while people, here's the chapter...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"For starters... as my slave..." Bra pondered, lifting a chubby finger to her chin and tilting her head to the side in thought.  
  
"Slave? I thought I was just your prisoner"  
  
"It's the same thing, silly. You have to do what I say! Now for starters, you have to clean my room, and then take me out for ice-cream, and then tell Trunks to stop picking on me, and then..."  
  
Goten groaned. "Braaaaa, that's a lot of work. Can't you just choose one thing for me to do, then let me go?" he asked hopefully, not liking the idea of picking up her room, although the ice-cream plan wasn't half bad.  
  
Bra frowned and then her eyes lit up. "OK, I have the perfect thing for you to do! But you have to promise to do it!"  
  
Against his better judgment, Goten agreed, what horrible thing could a 5 year old think of?  
  
"You promise? Good! You have to marry me!"  
  
Goten was in shock and immediately sat straight up, causing the young girl to slide onto his knees where she gave him a look of pure terror. Was he going to laugh at her? Tell her "no"? Crush her dreams?  
  
Although his first instinct was to laugh because he thought it to be a joke, Goten saw her face and controlled himself. "Uh... heh, Bra? Why would you want to marry me?" he asked, not quite sure how to handle the situation. Here was a little girl who he knew since she was born, his best friend's little sister, talking about sharing a life with him, sharing an eternity. 'She doesn't know what she's talking about,' he told himself.  
  
Bra frowned, not sure of if he was going to agree or not. "Well, you're nice to me. You always protect me from Trunks when he tries to make fun of me. You're the closest guy I know that I'm not related to."  
  
Goten smiled at her enthusiasm. "Well Bra, I don't know if we can get married now, we're both too young. So let's make a compromise."  
  
"A comompize? What's that?"  
  
"A compromise. It's where we take part of your idea and part of my idea and make a new one."  
  
Bra narrowed her eyes. 'Is he trying to get out of this?' She slowly nodded her head, indicating that she wanted to hear more.  
  
"Why don't we agree that when we're both older, if we haven't found someone else we'll give a relationship a try. I'm sure that you'll grow up to be a very beautiful woman and will no doubt make me fall in love with you if you still want me to."  
  
Bra tilted her head and sighed. It was better then nothing. "OK Goten, but just to let you know, I will make you love me." With that she jumped up and ran back towards camp leaving a bewildered Goten sitting in the middle of the field.  
  
*****************************  
  
Bra woke up with a start, breathing hard and covered in sweat. 'That dream again' she thought numbly. 'It seems so real, and it probably was. Why Goten? Why did you bring me there for flying lessons? Do you remember too? Is it too much to hope for?'  
  
Bra turned her head to read the neon green numbers on her alarm clock. 6 A.M. It was way too early to be awake, and there was no way she could call Goten this early.  
  
She turned back over and stared at the ceiling. There was no way she would be able to go back to sleep now!  
  
Getting up Bra walked into her bathroom and turned on the shower. 'Might as well look nice today.'  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`  
  
  
  
Pan awoke with hazy memories of what happened the night before. Trunks stopped her from journeying to the past and then they stayed up talking. Turning slightly, Pan noticed two things. One, they were on the couch, and two, her head was nestled into Trunks lap as if it were a pillow.  
  
She looked up blushing, and was relieved to see Trunks head resting to the side, his eyes still closed. She got up slowly, careful not to disturb him. His hand fell from her hair and onto his thigh.  
  
Pan walked slowly outside, to the site where she attempted to venture into the past. It was bare. The time machine had been put into a capsule and was in Trunks' possession now.  
  
A twig breaking caused her to turn around, only to see a lone figure hidden in shadows. She knew it was not Trunks. This person was shorter, and not as muscular. Taking a step forward she went into a defensive stance, waiting for the shadowed figure to make a move.  
  
She heard the person chuckle, and watched as he stepped out and into the light of the moon. She knew that figure, the face, the sound of his voice. It was Jeremy. "Hehehe, same old Pan. You never will change will you?"  
  
"What are you doing here?" she gasped. "You're dead!"  
  
He smiled and walked closer to her. "I know I'm dead, but your grandfather pulled some strings to let me talk to you."  
  
"Grandpa Goku?"  
  
"Yes." He hesitated. "I thought we should talk."  
  
"I'm so sorry Jeremy." She broke down crying, and he rushed forward to cradle her in his arms.  
  
"Why are you sorry? You didn't do anything." Jeremy claimed, trying to soothe her.  
  
"I should have, should have done something." Pan sobbed. "I should have stayed with you in the car for 5 more minutes, or gotten out a minute sooner! It's not fair. Why you? Why did they have to take you? It's just, just-"  
  
Pan was at a loss of words, and Jeremy was at a loss of what to do. He unknowingly held and soothed her in a similar fashion that Trunks had a few hours before.  
  
"Pan, what happened is in the past. You need to let your heart heal."  
  
"I know it's in the past Jeremy, but my heart still hurts. I don't know if the pain will ever go away." She rested her chin on his shoulder and leaned against him. Sure they had agreed to be just friends, and that there were no romantic interests but it hurt just the same. They were so close, as if they knew what the other was always thinking. It hurt to lose someone she cared so much about. It hurt a lot.  
  
He continued to hold her as she sniffled and tried to regain some of her composure.  
  
"It will get better. I promise you. Now, why don't you tell me who that guy was in your living room? Was he the Trunks you told me about in the car?"  
  
Pan smiled and pulled away from him. "Yes."  
  
"And?" Jeremy lifted an inquisitive eyebrow.  
  
"And what? We're just friends. That's the way it will always be. Even if he was interested, I'm not sure I'm ready for a relationship."  
  
Jeremy sighed and shook his head. "Just promise me one thing."  
  
"Depends."  
  
"Oh come on Pan! Think of it as my dying wish." Jeremy smiled.  
  
"That's not funny," she started, before her face cracked and she involuntarily smiled.  
  
"What do you want me to promise?"  
  
They were busy with playful banter. It was as if they both forgot he was dead, but the fact was, he wouldn't be back.  
  
"That you'll let go?" he asked, hoping she'd promise.  
  
Witnessing her confused expression he continued. "Holding on to someone is ok Pan, but I'm not coming back."  
  
"I know," She whispered softly into the night air. "I just don't know if I can let go. I don't want to say goodbye."  
  
"You don't have to say goodbye Pan, and you don't have to let go to everythin. You can still hold on to the memories, and the feelings. But you do have to focus on the living every now and then. There are people here that care for you, and they need you too right now."  
  
With that Jeremy started to fade into the darkness and Pan reached out a hand to touch his cheek, but it passed through thin air. "I'll see you later Jeremy."  
  
**************************************  
  
Marron had been awakened that morning when she felt something move against the back of her thigh, and then noticed warm arms around her stomach, holding her back against a strong solid wall of muscle.  
  
When she was about to scream and cry out for help, she suddenly remembered it was just Mirai. He had stayed up most of the night holding her, and getting her food and a drink when she asked. He even took the liberty of massaging her foot and 'sprained' ankle. But when he tried to take the next step, she said she really didn't feel up to it. She was in too much 'pain.'  
  
He was understanding, and she briefly remembered that before she fell asleep, his arms wrapped protectively around her and his chin rested in the groove between her neck and shoulder.  
  
After an awkward experience of getting up with Mirai and getting out of bed, she noticed that they were both still shirtless. Correction, he was only in boxers, and she was in a bra and her pants from the day before. She had to fake her ankle still hurting, so he carried her around.  
  
Now they were both downstairs, he was reading the newspaper and she was stirring her tea absentmindedly. It was about 10:00 in the morning, Wednesday. She was dreading the fact that Saturday was only three days away.  
  
She looked up from her swirling spoon and caught Mirai gazing at her. He smiled, "I have to go to work, but I'll be back around 5. You going to be OK alone?"  
  
"Yeah, I've got your mom and sister to keep me company." She smiled.  
  
He got up and leaned towards her, kissing her lips. This time she kissed back. 'What the heck, one kiss won't hurt. Besides, I can't have him suspecting anything can I?' she thought.  
  
****************************  
  
The insistent ringing of the phone brought Pan from a comfortably warm slumber. The fleeting images of Jeremy passing through her mind like water flowing down a river. To hell with whoever would call so early in the morning, she thought groggily. The answering machine would pick up soon. She was far too comfortable to move, more relaxed than she had been in months, in years, in spite of her bed having grown hard and lumpy overnight.  
  
The phone continued it's annoying insistence and then the bed itself moved, bringing Pan completely awake. She pushed awkwardly to a sitting position, hampered by legs and arms entangling hers.  
  
Her eyes slit open to spy a man's face entirely too close to hers. Trunks.  
  
She closed her eyes and groaned as realization hit her. No wonder the mattress had seemed hard and lumpy. Of course Trunks probably wouldn't appreciate being called 'lumpy.'  
  
She was not asleep on her queen-sized bed with its brass head rail and soft down comforter; she was draped atop Trunks Briefs, with his lavender hair, sleepy smile, and hard muscles. They had fallen asleep on the couch last night, or had it been early this morning? Her brain was too foggy to remember.  
  
"The phone's ringing," he slurred. His voice was edged with sleep and just as warm as the rest of them. Pan experienced a flash of fantasy about waking up with this man after a lusty night in a real bed, hearing that husky early morning voice growling something about whose turn it was in the shower, or making morning coffee, or better yet, seducing her back into bed and into his arms. The flash of fantasy became a flush of heat in her face.  
  
"Pan?"  
  
"Uh, what?"  
  
"The phone."  
  
The answering machine was at the limit in messages, she remembered, it wouldn't pick up. And whoever was calling was determined to get an answer. "Who would call this early?" She grumbled as she groped for the phone on the end table.  
  
It was Juuachigou; there was no mistaking her voice. And whatever it was, it had to be important.  
  
"Oh good. You are home."  
  
"Hi..."  
  
How much more awkward could a moment get? Awakened from sleep on top of one man by your friend's mother?  
  
"Do you sound wrung out! What's the matter?"  
  
Pan glanced at Trunks, studiously examining his nails; he was trying to look uninterested in the conversation, and not succeeding. She sighed wearily. "Juu, it's early."  
  
"Noon is early?"  
  
"Noon?"  
  
"You are out of it. Listen, I've got some info to spread. It's about Mirai."  
  
"Mirai?"  
  
Trunks looked over at Pan, suddenly not caring if he looked interested or not. "What's the matter?"  
  
"Well..."  
  
******************************  
  
Next chapter: Goten and Bra meet, Pan and Trunks learn the whole Mirai story, and Marron works with Bulma for the cure.  
  
Hey everyone, sorry this chapter took a while, my best friend's grandfather is dying (lung cancer spread, and now he has tumors in his brain) and I had to comfort her, while at the same time remembering my own grandfather dying two years ago...  
  
Anyways, I would like to thank Scarlet Fire for the wonderful beta reading and editing! Everyone say thank you! Of course I can't pay her for editing, but she does get to read the chapters before everyone else! Thanks!  
  
I would also like to thank you wonderful reviewers out there! I love yah! Keep reviewing, and tell me what you want to see next chapter. Would you rather A) See T/P finally get together.B) See where G/B are heading or C) watch Marron struggle against Mirai some more? Humor is great isn't it? I think in the next chapter I might just put in some of each!  
  
If you want to be notified when this story is updated e-mail me at ImaginativeOne1@aol.com. I will add you to my list.  
  
Hope you liked the chapter. Well, did ya? I dare you to leave a review. I Double Dog dare you!! Triple Dog dare you!!!! 


	20. 'I don’t expect you to fall in love with...

AN) Pretty much everyone asked for G/B.so I figured I'd give them a nice little scene.Mt/M conflict too if the chapter doesn't get too long.  
  
Pan hung up the phone and looked at Trunks. "You won't believe this," she uttered. She still found it hard to believe, and yet at the same time strangely amusing.  
  
Trunks stared at her with arched eyebrows and a look of expectancy. She basically stopped talking as she had listen to Marron's mother talk on the phone, but from what he could pick out it was about Mirai.and it was extremely odd.  
  
"For starters guess who woke up yesterday."  
  
"Mirai?"  
  
"Yes.and guess what he did after he woke up?"  
  
Trunks glared at her. "I don't know.what did he do?"  
  
"Oh he kissed Marron," she said as if it was nothing.  
  
"WHAT?" Trunks was definitely more than interested now. Yet he had a strange feeling the situation was about to get deeper.  
  
"Oh that's not all. Apparently in his mind he and Marron are engaged to be married this Saturday.you know in two days! And that's not all.He also thinks she's pregnant with his child."  
  
Trunks couldn't speak. It was all too hysterical. They had been expecting the worse, that he'd never wake up.or that he'd wake up thinking he was some mass murderer and kill everybody. But this? THIS? Poor Marron! It was hysterically perfect!  
  
"Oh don't worry it gets better. Marron has to pretend.as do the rest of us, that that is what is really happening. But Marron's mother told me it would probably be best for you to keep a low profile.he might find it confusing if there are two of him. He thinks he's you. He's taken over your job at work. I can only imagine how you're poor secretary is handling all this confusion."  
  
Trunks was happy, amused, and grateful.he didn't have to go to work!  
  
***********************  
  
Mrs. Wolfe had known the Briefs family a long time. She had originally been a temp in the company, but Mrs. Briefs gave her the job of being Trunks's secretary because she didn't trust Trunks to pick one that could actually do the job.  
  
She had known that weird things happened within the family. But she never questioned them. When Trunks would disappear from his office without ever opening the door, and only leaving an open window on the 40-story high office room, she soon discovered that he could fly. She also found it odd that they all seemed to posses some sort of inhuman strength. But she had always liked the family, and decided a long time ago not to get weirded out by their actions.  
  
When she had her child 2 years ago, Trunks was kind enough to give her maternity leave for 1 year with pay, and guaranteed her job would still be here when she got back. Whenever her son was sick he let her go home and be with him for as long as it took.  
  
Perhaps their generosity and kindness had been the reason for her undying loyalty for their family.  
  
But what just happened 5 minutes ago was a little hard for her to handle.  
  
Trunks.at least she thought it was Trunks.walked through the elevator.nodded at her.and walked to his office.  
  
Ok, so it wasn't really weird. The weird part was the way he looked. It was as if his hair grew 8 inches over night! And the weirder thing was.he asked why she wasn't there yesterday!  
  
Did he not remember he told her to take the rest of the day off yesterday?  
  
Mrs. Wolfe sighed and returned to her computer. It wasn't her place to question his odd behavior and appearance, but perhaps it was her place to ask his mother if there was anything she should know about.  
  
Mrs. Wolfe picked up the phone, dialing the lab downstairs where Bulma Briefs had submerged herself in an unhealthy workload that seemed to be the matter of life and death to her. Little did she know that this would probably be the most interesting phone conversation of her career.  
  
***********************************  
  
Bra was flying towards the usual meeting spot. It seemed funny now to call it 'usual' because it was where they usually met; yet it held so much mystery to her. She had called Goten after getting out of the shower, doing her nails, blow drying her hair, painting her toe nails, choosing an outfit, changing the outfit 2 or three times, styling her hair, and picking out shoes.  
  
Ok, so she was a little more than nervous to be meeting him.  
  
They had decided to eat breakfast and meet at the spot around noon.  
  
She was wondering what exactly to say to him. First off, she decided, she should tell him the truth. She had been able to fly for a while now. Second, she should admit to remembering the race, and the promise. But what if he didn't remember it? What if she was confused and this didn't mean what she thought it meant? What she hoped it meant?  
  
There was no time to dwell on it now though, she told herself, be courageous, be spontaneous, trust your instincts. Boy would her father be proud to hear her thinking that.  
  
But then again, how would he react to knowing she was interested in pursuing a relationship with the son of the man he hated so much? Goten wasn't so bad in Vegeta's opinion, after all he had known the boy since he and Trunks were children. Of course Goten and Trunks did make it a hobby to annoy Vegeta to impossible degrees. Considering he was the last eligible Saiyan male not related to her, perhaps her father wouldn't be so put out by the situation.ok so she was grasping at possibilities!  
  
Bra landed a short distance from the small lake, keeping her ki low still so he wouldn't see her, and wouldn't know she flew. Then again it might make it easier if he brought up the subject first.  
  
She ran over to the tree and looked around. There was no one in sight. Oh well, she thought checking her watch; I'm 5 minutes early anyways. She began to coach herself on what to say, trying to find a way to tell him everything, and spare her dignity at the same time.  
  
Goten landed about 2 minutes later, looking around suddenly to see if he could spot any flying pigs. Bra was here early? Bra was never early for anything!  
  
He walked up to her and swallowed hard at the look of seriousness in her features. He had spent the whole flight over here convincing himself that nothing would go wrong, and that Bra just wanted to talk. Sure he knew deep down what she wanted to talk about, but he hoped the conversation would be positive on her part. He already knew how he felt.  
  
"Hi Bra," he spoke with the usual Son enthusiasm as well as the trademark Son grin.  
  
"Hey Goten." She said softly. Ok so maybe just coming straight out and being honest wasn't as easy to do, as it was to think about doing.  
  
"Are you okay?" he asked after a short silence.  
  
"Yes.no.I don't know Goten. I just needed to talk to you."  
  
Bra leaned against the back of the tree and let her head fall back so she was gazing up at the tree branches. 'Ok girl, just go out and say it. One step at a time.' She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.  
  
She moved her head up again and glanced straight at him, staring into his eyes.  
  
"I haven't been entirely honest with you Goten.you see.I can fly now." As if to demonstrate she lifted off the ground slightly and hovered a little unsteadily.  
  
Goten just looked at her, not surprised in the least. "For how long?"  
  
Bra was taken aback. He wasn't surprised? He wasn't mad at her for wasting his time with stupid lessons she didn't even need anymore? "Since Monday night, when Mirai fainted." She said quietly, as if expecting him to yell soon.  
  
What was she thinking? Since when had Goten ever been angry with her? Since when had she ever heard him raise his voice to her, to anyone for that matter? Now came the question she was dreading.  
  
"Why didn't you say anything that night? Or Tuesday for that matter?" He inquired, his eyes twinkling and his mouth slowly forming a smile.  
  
Bra looked puzzled. He wasn't surprised? He was acting as if he knew!  
  
"Well I was going to but.wait.why don't you look surprised?"  
  
Goten arched an eyebrow. "Oh I saw you take off yesterday when you thought I was asleep. But I've known you could fly since Monday night." He said matter-of-factly.  
  
Bra's eyes widened. "Why didn't you say anything? Why didn't you let me know you knew?" Her mind was racing. 'Why did he pretend I couldn't fly yesterday for the lesson? Why?' she thought. Her eyes bore into his, waiting for an answer.  
  
Goten shrugged his shoulders. "I was waiting for you to tell me.now I believe I asked earlier, why didn't you say anything about it sooner?"  
  
Bra's eyed darted away. Shoot, how was she supposed to get out of this. She wasn't supposed to tell him her feeling yet, not until she was sure of how he felt. And how did he get out of her question so easily?  
  
She muttered something softly, hoping his Saiyan hearing wouldn't pick up exactly what she said.  
  
"What?" he asked.  
  
"I said.I didn't want the lessons to end." She said in a slightly louder voice. 'Great way to save your pride Bra. Oh well it was now or never.I hope he understands.'  
  
Goten straightened his back and stood rigid. 'Oh great Bra.' She yelled at herself. 'He wasn't expecting that one. Let's just throw it straight at him and freak him out! It's obvious he doesn't share your adolescent feelings, and you've probably ruined any chance at even being friends with him Great.just great.'  
  
There was silence for a minute and Bra turned away. "I think I'll fly myself home now. Thanks for the lessons Goten, they were nice while they lasted."  
  
She levitated slightly but stopped when she felt a hand touching her hip. Turning mid-air she started to descend back to ground level. Back to staring into Goten's face.  
  
"The lessons don't have to end Bra."  
  
"What do you mean Goten?" she asked in an annoyed tone. Why wouldn't he just let her leave? Why make her go through this embarrassment.  
  
"Well you can levitate, and fly under pressure, but I can still teach you to fly more steadily, and faster, and do flips." He grinned at the last part. Air-acrobatics was a ton of fun! (AN: I wish I could fly!!! I wish Goten would teach me to fly!!! Or Mirai Trunks!! Or Trunks!!! Oh hey any of the Z- fighters!!! I'm going to have great dreams tonight *stupid grin* I'll let you get back to reading now.)  
  
It was Bra's turn to look puzzled. She shook her head softly, blue locks of hair sliding over her shoulders.  
  
"Goten why did you bring me here? Why here? Of all places to teach me to fly?"  
  
Goten took a step back, still not breaking eye contact. "Well it's out in the middle of no where, I didn't think we should be in a crowded park to."  
  
"No Goten. Why HERE?" She was intent on making him admit that this place meant something. Intent to know that he knew what was happening, and she wasn't going out of her mind.  
  
Goten was stuck. There was no easy way out of this one. "Do you remember this place Bra?" It was all he could hope. Please let her remember this place; please let it actually mean something to her.  
  
Bra nodded her head. "I had forgotten till yesterday." She decided that that was about as much of a confession that he remembered the place too, that she would be able to get out of him.  
  
Goten nodded his head and stared past her, focusing on a limb of the tree and then letting his eyes go out of focus. He was in what we call "lala land" The place between dreamland and reality, where you are awake but not quite.there.  
  
Bra looked at Goten and sighed. How much more awkward could this get. He didn't even answer her question!  
  
Taking his silence to mean he didn't care she began to speak. "Look Goten.We were just little kids, things don't have to go all weird between us now. I don't expect you to fall in love with me just because I have feelings for you and we made some sort of stupid little deal when we were li."  
  
"I lied." He said out of nowhere, interrupting her little babbling episode.  
  
"What?" she asked. She mentally reflected over what she had said and realized she admitted her feelings for him. 'Oh well, that was the original plan. Tell him everything.does that mean he lied when we were little? He lied about someday being able to love me?'  
  
"Lied about what Goten?" she asked painfully. Great, it figured she'd feel like crying at a time like this. Like she didn't feel like enough of a fool already.  
  
"When you asked me why I didn't say anything sooner about knowing you could fly. I said that I wanted you to admit to it first." he explained. "I lied."  
  
He sighed softly. " The truth is I didn't want the lessons to end either."  
  
Bra sucked in a deep breath and took a chance. "Didn't?" she asked softly.  
  
He refocused his gaze on her and smiled. "I don't want to stop spending time with you Bra. I.I have feelings for you too.and I was wondering.if um."  
  
Whatever Goten was going to say was completely lost as Bra took another chance and wrapped her arms around his neck, her lips touching his in a kiss that neither of them ever wanted to end.  
  
**********************  
  
Marron was in Bulma's lab, standing on her "sprained" ankle while hard at work to find the cure for Mirai's ailment.  
  
So far they had the chemical formula to the cure down to the last element. They knew exactly what to put into it, and exactly how much of each chemical. The only thing they couldn't figure out was how much they needed to heat the solution and for how long, before it would react and form the final product. The final product that would save Mirai's life, and possible Marron's sanity.  
  
Marron was having a difficult time justifying her previous actions. She kissed him.it's not like it meant anything right? She was just trying to act out her part. All she could hope for now was that when he finally regained his memory he wouldn't remember their time together. Or maybe it would be better if he did.maybe then he wouldn't see her as such a cold hearted bitch.maybe then he would give her a chance at being friends.  
  
But did she really want to be friends with him? She knew she wanted to be close to him, to be able to talk to him like Pan could talk to him. But did she only want friendship? Though they were fighting all the time before, she still thought there was something about him that was extremely attractive. And we're not talking looks here, although he was definitely a 10 in that department. She thought there was something about his personality, about the way his voice sounded, the way it felt when he touched her skin, the way it felt when he kissed her. Ok, so she wanted more than friendship.was it so wrong? So what about when he regains his memory? She didn't want to be enemies anymore, and she definitely wanted to be more than friends!  
  
How could she be so deeply attracted to a man that she could only normally converse with through yelling? Then again.that was Vegeta and Bulma's main for of conversation most of the time. Was her relationship with Mirai all that different?  
  
Ok so Mirai hated her mother.then again Vegeta hated Bulma's friend Goku, and Krillen, and Yamcha, and..all of them really.  
  
Oh great, she had really gone off the deep end now. Comparing her and Mirai to Vegeta and Bulma? Was she really that desperate to justify the chance of a future relationship?  
  
At least with Bra's parents you could tell there were feelings on both sides. How was she supposed to even suspect that Mirai might have mutual feelings?  
  
And what was she doing by falling for him? The only reason he held interest in her now was because he was delusional due to a fatal disease! It figures.  
  
Marron snapped out of her thought session with a decision. 'I will not think about a relationship with him yet. I should concentrate on saving his life first.'  
  
Marron turned to Bulma who was ruffling through a pile of papers. "I can't find it." She said out of frustration.  
  
"Find what?" Marron asked. Bulma just turned, her eyes frantic and her hands shaking.  
  
"The disk. The other me wrote that the time and degrees to heat the chemicals were on disk 3. I've found the first two disks, but there isn't a third disk. I don't remember there ever being a third disk!"  
  
Marron frowned. "Do you think it's possible that it was left in the other dimension?"  
  
Bulma nodded her head and sighed. "What are we going to do now?"  
  
Marron narrowed her eyes. "Why don't we find Mirai's time machine and send someone to the other dimension to find it?"  
  
Bulma nodded her head. "Who?"  
  
***************************************************  
  
AN) So it gets deeper. Goten and Bra have finally kissed and admitted their feelings. Kawaii!!! Trunks and Pan finally found out about Mirai.but Goten still needs to learn about the whole situation.  
  
Next chapter: :: announcers voice:: Who will be sent to the past to locate the missing disk that potentially holds the key to saving Mirai's life? How will Marron deal with her feelings for Mirai? And how does she keep him from making the relationship more.intimate? What are Trunks and Pan doing? :  
  
Ok, go ahead and e-mail me at ImaginativeOne1@aol.com and I will add you to my mailing list. No junk mail! Just a little e-mail with a link to the next chapter whenever I update. Plus when I have a problem deciding on where the story should go next, I will probably e-mail them asking for advice.  
  
I promise to have Mt/M interaction next chapter!  
  
Why don't you guys go ahead and review again? It would make me happy! It would make me very happy! I bet you have all forgotten how to review! That's it; I bet you are all just stupid and forgot. What? Want to prove me wrong? I dare you to try! Review! 


	21. Fruity Pebbles? Fruit Loops? Coco puffs?...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Bulma had spoken to Mrs. Wolfe previously and tried her best to explain the predicament they found themselves in. It wasn't a very easy task. I mean, how would you act if someone told you: Hey, you know your boss? Well that guy at work today wasn't your real boss. That guy is really from an alternate dimension which explains why he looks exactly like your real boss, but this guy's world was destroyed by a plague that is the same reason he now believes he is your boss from this dimension. No no, don't worry, we've taken precautions so that the plague won't infect this world.  
  
'I imagine you'd start to think that these people were crazy. I know that would be my first reaction.'  
  
But Mrs. Wolfe just wrote it off as another weird thing that always happen to the Briefs family and their friends.  
  
Mrs. Wolfe agreed to notify them when Trunks left the office. That way Marron could have enough time to sit down and pretend she hadn't been standing on the ankle.  
  
So when the phone communicator rang, Marron was immediately sitting in the swivel chair, propping her ankle on the desk and leaning back to re-examine the final figures to the equation.  
  
Bulma turned on the vid-phone and smiled to see Juuachigou.  
  
"I told Trunks and Pan about Mirai." She said immediately. "Pan said Trunks will probably just stay at his apartment in the city and keep a low profile for the time being. I also told Krillin, Goku, Chichi, and a few others. Gohan and Videl are still on that cruise, but they're supposed to be back Monday, it turns out they chose only to go on the cruise to Hawaii and back, rather than also go to the Bahamas...so rather than returning next Sunday, they'll be back in 5 days"  
  
"OK, so everyone knows now?" Bulma asked. She was ready to sigh in relief. All they had to do now was get the disk from the other dimension, finish the cure, and wait for Mirai to recover.  
  
"Not quite." Answered the blonde android. "I couldn't get a hold of Bra and Goten, but I noticed their ki are together off of the interstate south of town, in an old camping spot. I don't have time to go over there though. Maybe you could send Marron and giver her a break from Mirai for a while."  
  
Across the room Marron sighed in relief. No one would notice if she took plenty of time returning either.  
  
"Well thankfully he's still at work, so Marron's been able to help me here. But Bra does know about Mirai, and she's probably told Goten by now, but she might have left a few of the later developments out (i.e.: marriage and pregnancy). Oh, I do have a project for Bra, and I guess Goten too. So I'll send Marron around 5:00 when Mirai gets off of work."  
  
They ended the conversation and Bra and Marron exchanged knowing looks and smiles. They wondered what those two are up to out in the middle of nowhere.  
  
*********************  
  
Trunks and Pan were walking through the grocery store with a huge cart already full to human standards. But to them they were just starting.  
  
Trunks reached over and knocked another box of cereal into the basket, trying to ignore Pan's curious look.  
  
"Fruity Pebbles? Fruit Loops? Coco puffs? Trunks? Are you OK?"  
  
Trunks smiled back at her after knocking another box of Lucky charms into the cart. "Never better!"  
  
Pan shook her head and continued to walk with him. After standing for 20 minutes in front of the coffee section they both finally made their selections and continued. Next they chose ice cream, cookie dough, and some Jell-O pudding cups.  
  
They were walking down the isles towards the cash registers when they noticed the long lines.  
  
Glancing at the cart Pan sighed. "I guess we can't go through the express lane. We have WAY more than 10 items"  
  
Before she knew what happened Trunks grabbed her hand and pulled her into the nearest express lane. "Don't worry about it!"  
  
Pan sighed and shook her head. "There is no way this is going to work."  
  
Trunks just smiled at the lady and gave her a wink.  
  
"Sir, this line is just for people with 10 items or less. You do not qualify. I'm afraid you're going to have to act like everyone else and -"  
  
"Don't you know me?" Trunks asked with a playful grin. "Because you look very familiar to me. I know I've seen you somewhere." Pan just put her hand over her eyes and looked down. This was just embarrassing to watch.  
  
"Sir, do not try and sweet talk your way out of this. You're going to have to leave now, you're blocking the line."  
  
"Oh please!" He gave her puppy dog eyes this time.  
  
Pan shook her head again. "Oh brother. I actually hope she doesn't fall for this, no woman should be this stupid."  
  
5 minutes of arguing and 3 security guards later, Pan finally dragged Trunks and the cart to another line. This was going to be a while.  
  
********************************************  
  
Marron was in Mirai's room, lifting up the mattress, opening drawers. It wasn't anywhere! It was as if the time capsule had just disappeared. It had to be somewhere though. She lifted her cell phone and dialed Bulma's number. She quickly told her to check the security cameras and make sure no one came in and took it. Perhaps someone wasn't thinking clearly and decided they should keep the time machine out of arms reach in case Mirai did wake up to be a mass murderer.  
  
It was when she heard footsteps down the hall that she ran out of the room and started to fake limp towards Trunks' room.  
  
Mirai turned the corner in time to see Marron limping towards the door. Being the perfect gentlemen, he ran ahead and put his arm around her waist, letting her lean on him as she walked.  
  
"Going to our room?" he asked.  
  
Marron couldn't help but blush as she thought of it as their room. Not hers, not his, but theirs. That was how he saw it. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad if she gave him a chance. The only problem was, she did not want to fall for him when he could be better any day now and go back to hating her.  
  
She nodded her head and he opened the door for her.  
  
"I was going to try and take a hot bath, let my muscles relax and help the swelling in my ankle." She said after a pause. It was the only excuse she could think of at the moment.  
  
"How about I prepare it for you, and we can take it together. You wash my back, I'll wash yours." He purred seductively.  
  
Marron shivered as he spoke in her ear. She walked straight into that one.  
  
"I guess," she said softly, trying to think of an excuse. "But I have to go find Bra and Goten first, and tell them that your mom wants to see them."  
  
"Were you going to drive?" he asked surprised, pointing to her ankle.  
  
"Well it's just my left ankle, I only need my right foot to work the gas and the brake."  
  
Mirai shook his head. "How about I get that bath ready, and you can relax while I go and get them. Then when I get back maybe we can have a nice candle lit dinner on the balcony."  
  
Marron smiled. "I would like that very much." And she didn't even have to lie.  
  
**********************************  
  
Goten and Bra were levitating in the air, as Goten instructed her on how to do a flip without loosing balance or falling to the ground.  
  
"Just remember to keep your ki focused on the ground, even when you're upside down, because if you keep pushing away you might drive yourself back downward."  
  
Bra glided backward gently and tried a forward flip. She did it gracefully, as if she was born to fly.  
  
Goten and Bra spent the next few hours working on gaining speed, and how to stop suddenly at high velocities.  
  
It was when they bumped into each other and kissed mid-air that Mirai Trunks showed up and chuckled at them.  
  
"I don't know if I like you touching my sister Son Goten," he said with a smile.  
  
The two demi-Saiyans broke apart and blushed. They were both stunned to see Mirai but Bra quickly remembered that he thought he was Trunks. She had briefly told Goten about that on the phone this morning. But neither of them knew that Trunks thought he was marrying Marron on Saturday, or that he thought Marron was pregnant.  
  
"Mi... Trunks? Hi what are you doing here?" Bra asked frantically. She was blushing, she knew, but she was trying to keep a level head. 'I guess they'd all find out about Goten and me sooner or later. Nothing wrong with sooner'.  
  
"Oh, Marron wanted to take a bubble bath, so I'm running her errands for her. Mom wants to see you two. I think it's important."  
  
Goten looked a little puzzled but Bra elbowed him in the stomach. "OK, we'll be at CC in a minute."  
  
Mirai just floated there smiling at them before turning and flying back towards home. Hopefully he might get there in time to join Marron before her bath was done.  
  
Goten looked at Bra and they both shrugged their shoulders. "We should probably go. It might be important."  
  
Goten nodded his head but kept smiling. He wrapped his arms around her again and kissed her. "Ready when you are." He lifted her up and started to fly towards her home.  
  
"You know I can fly now Goten." Bra said, thinking that maybe he forgot that little fact.  
  
"I know." he replied, but made no move to let her go or loosen his hold.  
  
****************************************  
  
Mirai landed on the balcony and frowned. Marron was already out of her bath and dressed. She was sitting on the bed brushing her hair when he came in.  
  
The way her hair fell over her shoulders, and the soft smile she gave him was enough to make him melt right there. He had no doubt that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with the blue-eyed angel sitting on his bed. "Hey Trunks."  
  
He walked towards her and held out his hand. She took it with a smile and found herself pulled to her feet.  
  
"Does your ankle feel better?" he asked softly.  
  
Marron looked puzzled for a moment but quickly recovered. "Yeah, the swelling went down but it still hurts a little bit. I think I should just walk it off."  
  
"Oh no you don't! I want you in perfect condition for walking down that isle Saturday."  
  
Marron smiled weakly. "Well I'm sure I'll be alright by then, but I need to speak to Bulma before dinner."  
  
Mirai lifted her up and walked down the hallway. "No problem, just think of me as your personal escort service."  
  
*****************************************  
  
AN) Go ahead and review if you want. I will probably put the next chapter out later today, or tomorrow. Depending on when I get it back from my editor (Scarlet Fire ^_^ thanks!!)  
  
If you want to be notified when I update this story, I will add you to my mailing list (no junkmail or anything other than a notice when I add a new chapter, unless I need advice for the plot.) just e-mail me at ImaginativeOne1@aol.com  
  
You can IM me too. Luv yah! 


	22. I’m going to stay here tonight, Pan

AN) Ok, there is a very little lemon in this chapter. Not really a lemon I don't think, it's not really hentai. It's cuter, and to the point I suppose. You can skip it if you want, it's at the end of the t/p part...you'll see when it's coming.  
  
The two walked into the deserted house and turned on lights, suddenly the place didn't feel quite so lonely to Pan. Maybe she should ask him to stay. He couldn't go home with the Mirai situation...but he did have other places to be...he probably didn't want to even be here with her...he was just being nice, worrying about her.  
  
They walked through the living room with a bunch of bags from the grocery store and set them on the kitchen floor. Trunks immediately started to put some away. Pan was beginning to wonder how she was going to eat all this food by herself, and was wondering why Trunks bought so much for himself only to put it in her cabinets.  
  
She walked back into the living room and hit the button on the answering machine to delete the old messages, but there was one she hadn't heard yet so she let it play while she went into the kitchen with Trunks to put up the rest of the groceries.  
  
From the other room she could clearly hear the masculine voice from the answering machine. And from the look of interest on Trunks's face, he heard it too.  
  
"Hey Pan, it's me Tom, I was just wondering how you were doing. You weren't there the last day of school when I was visiting, and I sort of got worried about you. Hey, why don't you call me when you get this message? I'm going to be at a commercial shoot today and tomorrow, but maybe we can still go this weekend since summer is finally here. I'll talk to you soon!"  
  
The answering machine clicked off and the computerized voice announced that there were no new messages.  
  
Pan shrugged her shoulders and turned back to the counter where she stacked the several boxes of cereal. She noticed that Trunks was looking at her curiously and she arched an eyebrow.  
  
"What was Tom Walkson doing calling here anyway? I didn't know you two knew each other. Didn't he graduate last year?  
  
"Yes." Pan could have left it at that. The rest really wasn't Trunks's business. But his eyes questioned, he didn't even attempt to look politely uninterested.  
  
"Tom offered to take me to the Beethoven symphony, then to dinner where we could talk and catch up." She explained. He just continued to stare, his eyes imploring for more information.  
  
"Don't look at me like that, Trunks. Tom and I aren't dating. He and Jeremy were buddies. We're just friends."  
  
He regarded her from beneath thick brows that had drawn together into a solid disapproving line. "Quite a guy, Tom Walkson. 19 years old and already a TV celebrity, rich, and cultural lover."  
  
She smiled and shrugged, "I can't resist Beethoven."  
  
"I'll have to remember that."  
  
He was jealous, Pan realized, and wondered if she was to be treated to a cold shoulder or a fit of pique similar to what she sometimes got from boyfriends. Perhaps she should have made up some more innocent explanation for Tom's call.  
  
She opened her eyes and caught Trunks looking at her with eyes that penetrated with unnerving clarity. "Shall I be perfectly honest?" she asked.  
  
"About what?"  
  
"About anything and everything?"  
  
He shrugged. "Go ahead."  
  
"Tom was more than an old acquaintance. He and I were close friends before Jeremy, and lately he's been pushing for a closer relationship. But I told him that I'm seeing someone else." She smiled wryly.  
  
"You're seeing someone else?" Trunks was still back on that one sentence. "And who might that be?"  
  
"It was a lie of course dum dum. First it was Jeremy, but now he thinks there's someone else.who doesn't actually exist. But there is a man I'm interested in..."  
  
"I think he's one very lucky man."  
  
"Well..." She tried to sound stern, but in the glow of his smile it was difficult. "He's not going to get lucky yet. I meant what I said last night. My life needs to settle down to where I can make rational sensible decisions."  
  
Trunks shook his head, but he was still smiling. "Pan, my love. Haven't you learned yet that life rarely settles down? There is no such thing as normal. Things always intrude, good and bad, to get our minds in a whirl when we least want them to be in a whirl."  
  
She looked at him doubtfully.  
  
"When something good comes along, you've got to grab it while you can."  
  
"And I bet you're that something good?"  
  
"You bet I am. You can't hide yourself away because you discovered the hard way that life-and-love sometimes isn't what it's cracked up to be. And I'm just the guy with the persistence to yank you out of hiding."  
  
Pan arched a cautious brow. "Do tell."  
  
"I will tell, thank you very much. I'll tell you that you're the best thing that's walked into my life since I was born. I'll tell you that the thought of seeing you makes me glad to get out of bed in the morning. Being with you makes the things I love more beautiful, more wondrous, and makes the ordinary parts of my life take on a new gleam. Before I became closer to you, I never realized what I was missing by going through life alone."  
  
A glow started inside Pan. Her heart picked up its pace, and she couldn't keep a smile from her lips. She tried to caution herself that this was just talk. A line. A come-on. But Trunks didn't look as though he were sprouting a line. The words resounded from his heart, and they surrounded her with a warmth that was impossible to ignore.  
  
"Trunks..." She briefly brought her hands to her face, as if she could hide behind them, but then she dropped them back to the table to grip her coffee cup with white-knuckled intensity. "I've told myself since Jeremy died...I don't need a man. I don't need anyone."  
  
"That's bullshit. Everyone needs someone. If we don't have someone, we just plaster over the hole in our lives and hope to fool ourselves along with everybody else. I don't want to chain you Pan. I don't want to change you, or limit you, or make you pretend to be someone you're not. But as long as we're being honest with each other here, I'll confess that I am plotting to become an important part of your life."  
  
Half of her longed to throw herself into Trunks Briefs' open arms and bury her face in the warm flannel of his shirt. The other half quibbled that it was too soon, and she was driving into the emotional deep end without so much as a pair of water floaties.  
  
"I am-I am..." She stuttered. She was what? In love? In lust? Incapable of asking him to stay at the same time, as she was unwilling to ask him to leave?  
  
All of that, she concluded.  
  
"You are...?" he prompted. A twinkle lit his lavender eyes, and the grave set of his face started to relax.  
  
She should insist that he go, even though a few minutes before she'd been groping for an excuse for him to stay. But she did need time, not to mention the safety of distance, to relieve her of the mix of adolescent excitement and womanly longing his presence created. She couldn't let him know how just a look from him, or a smile, or a word, could thaw her resolve.  
  
Pan opened her mouth on an excuse-any excuse-when once again the need for honesty tweaked her. She didn't want games, and she didn't want to dance about trying to save face.  
  
Biting her lip she met his eyes openly. "I'm confused Trunks. You muddle my senses."  
  
He grinned. "Glad to hear it."  
  
"I don't know whether I'm in love with you, or simply longing for a strong anchor in a stormy sea."  
  
"There's nothing wrong with a strong anchor. It's a good beginning."  
  
"You sound as though you want more than a beginning."  
  
"Everything starts with a beginning. Beginnings don't bother me. What I want is something that doesn't have an end."  
  
Pan grew cold with a moment of absolute panic. Trunks eyes flicked over her face, and he smiled ruefully.  
  
"If the idea of endless love scares you, I'd settle for being really, really good friends. Intimately good friends. Endlessly, of course."  
  
Pan smiled. "You know me too well Trunks."  
  
He got up and came over to where she sat, sitting himself on his heels in front of her chair. She didn't resist when he reached out and took both her hands in his.  
  
"I'm going to stay here tonight, Pan."  
  
Her heart thumped erratically.  
  
"All other considerations aside, you shouldn't be staying here alone, especially with everything going on."  
  
"No, Trunks. You can't. Don't take advantage of what I've told you. I know I feel alone here and all but..."  
  
"I'm not going to take advantage of anything. I'll stay in the guest room if you want. "  
  
Like hell he would, he knew that she would cave in. They both knew.  
  
"Trunks, there is really no need-" She sighed and extracted her hands from his hold despite the warm comfort of them being there.  
  
"Just indulge me here Pan. Think of me as a playful pet to keep you company. I'll even buy my own groceries. Fact is, I already have. You wanted time to get to know me better. This is it. When all is done and settled, I'll move back out. And you can have your independence back, if you want it."  
  
But what about her heart? Pan thought desperately. Could she have her heart back as well? Or perhaps her heart had already been sacrificed, because through the sense of panic and indignation, a peculiar glee was rising to the surface of her soul.  
  
She got up and started pacing, driven by a need to put a bit of distance between them. "You can't make me let you stay."  
  
"Sure I can. You're too softhearted to make me camp out in my car in the front of your house."  
  
"I don't like this macho shit." She warned.  
  
"You like wimps? You're going to love it when I start whining out there in the cold, especially if it starts raining again."  
  
Pan paced, keeping her eyes on the floor in front of her. Looking up at Trunks would do her in for sure. When she turned and bumped up against him, she was unprepared for the shock of their sudden contact. She jumped backward and found the refrigerator at her back. Trunks took instant advantage, making his body into a barrier and caving her with a hand on either side of her head.  
  
"Is it a deal?" he demanded. Pan could scarcely breath. Up close and personal he was impressively broad and intimidatingly tall. The heat from his body was rapidly melting what little reserve was left to her, and suddenly she wondered why she was fighting so hard against something that might be so very good. Was she so easily chased onto the sidelines to watch the rest of the world compete in games she was afraid to play?  
  
"You're making it very hard to say no," she whispered up into his smile.  
  
"Aren't I though?"  
  
She gave into the need to slip her arms around his waist. He was firm muscle, a pillar of physical strength, not so unlike the solid anchor she'd mentioned earlier. He leaned into her and she closed her eyes, surrendering to the bliss. Touching him felt so right. Holding him seemed to loosen all the knots that had kinked her stomach over the past days.  
  
"Trunks, you know if you stay here it won't be in the guest room."  
  
"I know"  
  
"You know entirely too much about me, about all the holes in my defenses."  
  
"I do," he whispered, his mouth so close that his lips brushed her ear. "Because I love you, Pan. How's that for letting down defenses?"  
  
Before she could answer, he slipped an arm behind her knees and lifted her onto his arms.  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
"Giving you a ride into the bedroom."  
  
"You know I don't go in..."  
  
"For this macho shit," he finished. "But this seemed the surest way to get you there."  
  
Once in the bedroom, he swung her easily to her feet and kicked the door shut with his foot.  
  
"Now." He took her hands and placed them in their former position on his waist. "Where were we?"  
  
Pan surrendered to a smile, exasperated, aroused, and amused at the same time. She didn't know whether to rip into him for his high handedness, or to kiss him for the endearingly boyish hint of mischief in his voice.  
  
"Do you always get your way?"  
  
"Nearly always." He fingered aside a tumble of hair and kissed the tip of her ear. "I'm a very stubborn person."  
  
A current that was both icy and hot shivered through Pan's nerves as his mouth traveled the column of her neck and thence downward. The breath she'd been unconsciously holding seemed to shudder when she finally exhaled.  
  
"Someone should..." She gasped as some of the buttons on her shirt popped open. "Someone should put you in your place."  
  
"Someone should." He agreed. His big, blunt fingered hands were warm against her cold flesh as he peeled away her shirt and pushed it off her shoulders. A swift wave of desire arrowed through her as he splayed his fingers over her bare ribs and ran his thumbs beneath the elastic of her bra. His eyes captured hers. "Do you know where my place is, Pan?"  
  
"W...where?"  
  
"Right here with you. Better yet," he said in a voice growing husky. "Inside of you."  
  
Pans insides turned to liquid and her mind melted to mush. When Trunks guided her to the bed she sank down to the mattress with him, past resistance, past regret, caution or modesty. Their clothes came off in a hurry, but the rest of the encounter was slow and deliberate. They explored and caressed, toyed and tempted, teasing, feeding a desire that devoured them both. When they could take no more, they came together in a joining that sent them beyond need and desire, to a place where physical boundaries dissolved, leaving them with one soul, one joy, and one beating heart.  
  
******************************************  
  
Mirai set Marron down in the chair. She looked around and smiled. Apparently while she was talking with Bulma, Goten, and Bra, Mirai had set up the balcony with candles and a table with portions of a delicate cuisine for each of them. He really went all out, cooking the food himself.  
  
While she talked to Bulma earlier, they had decided to send Goten and Bra back to retrieve the disk. It would be too risky to send Trunks and Pan, in case Mirai saw Trunks in the vicinity of Capsule Corps. Goten and Bra had tried not to laugh when they heard about Marron's predicament with Mirai, but it didn't take long before their giggles couldn't be concealed. She tried to take offense, but in truth she thought she would probably find the whole thing funny if it was happening to someone else.  
  
They still didn't know where the Capsule was, but they had a feeling that Trunks and Pan had it, for whatever reason. The most likely one would be to keep it safe and out of the way in case Mirai had woken up to crave destruction and wanted to use the Time machine to reap that destruction.  
  
Marron looked around the balcony, it was getting dark now and the stars were visible in the night sky. The table was covered with a white tablecloth and two burning candles. It was very romantic.  
  
Marron looked across from her to see Mirai studying her with a smile on his lips. She blushed and looked down at her plate.  
  
"I didn't know you could cook." She said, somewhat surprised. She hoped that he didn't think he'd cooked for her before.  
  
"I'm full of surprises."  
  
"Yes you are." She agreed softly after sipping some wine. She returned her gaze to find him still looking at her.  
  
She noticed his food was untouched as he wasn't exactly paying attention to his hunger as he watched her over the rim of his wine glass.  
  
"Not hungry?" she asked jokingly. It was amazing, He had a human's portion of food on his plate, and he hadn't even touched it.  
  
"No." He kept his answers short so she'd do most of the talking. She looked really beautiful, he mused. Her blonde hair falling just so across her shoulders, still a little wet from her previous bath. He ached to run his hands through her hair, to kiss her soft pink lips.  
  
Marron was puzzled now. "Did you already eat?" she asked cautiously, watching as the gorgeous lavender haired god shook his head no. (An: well his is a gorgeous lavender haired god you know!!!!)  
  
"Big lunch?" she asked hopefully. Pleading in her mind that this wasn't what she thought it was.  
  
"No, small lunch actually."  
  
Marron frowned. This was bad. The second stage of the disease already hitting. His loss of appetite...the timing was just horrible.  
  
"Want to dance?" he asked out of nowhere, sensing the change in her mood and wanting to make this as romantic as possible.  
  
Marron smiled confused. "There's no music..."  
  
"We don't need music...you're ankle doesn't still hurt does it?"  
  
Marron looked confused, "Well...just a little..."  
  
They were back to the silence. It was odd; their conversation was choppy and precise.  
  
Mirai seemed not to mind, but Marron was getting rather uncomfortable under his gaze. It was then, she decided, to learn more about `their past.'  
  
"How did you fall in love with me?" she asked thoughtfully, resting the side of her head against her hand. It was his turn to speak, and he was definitely surprised by the question.  
  
"I suppose it just feels like I've always been in love with you..."  
  
"Yeah, but weren't. We were friends for a long time. What made it all change?"  
  
Mirai smiled. "I guess it was when Pan broke up with me and you were there." He continued speaking, not knowing that Marron was choking at the sound of Pan's name. "I just thought about it, and afterwards realized that I was hopeless with out you. I couldn't live with out you...I felt so stupid those first few months not knowing how you felt. But it just made so much sense. Then that night after the party when you...seduced me." He saw her look of surprise and quickly amended his words. "Not that I resisted or anything. That was six weeks ago...that we got together."  
  
"We've only been engaged for 6 weeks." She murmured thoughtfully. That was even out there for her! She remembered then that they probably got engaged when they found out she was pregnant. She seduced him? Oh I bet her father had a...great...reaction to that in Mirai's `world'.  
  
Mirai heard her wrong, and thought that she was having second thoughts.  
  
"It's just that...it feels like it's been so long." She recovered, relieved to see him smile.  
  
"Yeah it does...Marron? Are you sure about this? About getting married, and spending the rest of your life with me?" he asked quietly, his eyes gazed into hers as he prayed that she would answer to the affirmative.  
  
It took Marron a moment to think. If she said no...it would put her on safer ground and give them more time to get everything set up...but he would probably get depressed and lose his will to fight whatever was taking a hold of him. A tiny voice inside her yelled at her to just tell him the truth. No more lies. And that's exactly what she did. She told him the truth.  
  
"I can't imagine myself ever being happy with anyone other than you. I...I love you."  
  
*****************************************************  
  
AN) Ok...so Marron finally fell of the deep end and is now completely in love with Mirai...the only problem is...will he feel the same way whenever he wakes up? And what about Trunks and Pan? I know he said he loved her...but I didn't hear her return those words...and what about Goten and Bra? How are they going to deal with going to a dimension in chaos where everything is destroyed and dead?  
  
Review! I dare you again to review!! I am holding the next chapter hostage...ok no I'm not. I will probably still post it even if you hate the story! ^_^ Have a nice weekend guys! Or at least what's left of it! 


	23. You would have loved her

Hey everyone, I know it's been a while. Sorry it's taken so long, but I barely got any reviews on the last chapter and was wondering if you actually liked this story. This chapter has a song, "Hold On", by Sarah McLachlan in it. I hope you enjoy!  
  
*************************  
  
Hold on  
  
Hold on to yourself  
  
for this is gonna hurt like hell  
  
*************************  
  
*Bra*  
  
So this is it; the famous time machine that once saved every ones lives? It looks a little scratched, and there's a dent here and there. But, all in all it's a pretty remarkable machine. It's going to be so weird going to the past. At least I'm not going alone though. I doubt I'd be able to brave the other dimension with out Goten there with me.  
  
I look to my right and sigh. He's so beautiful.no wonder I love him so much. To think, I had first thought he was nothing but a friend. Then I thought I only liked him. But it turned out perfect. He cares for me as much as I care for him.  
  
"Where did you find his time machine mom?" I ask. I felt so bad for the whole Mirai predicament. While at first I thought it was sort of funny for Marron to pretend to be dating him, I have somewhat mixed sympathy feelings for the fact that now she has to pretend to be marrying him on Saturday, and be carrying his child. I suppose I secretly know that everything will work out fine between them, but I think that's just my optimism speaking. I've always tried to be a very optimistic person.  
  
"I don't know. Trunks dropped it by earlier, he said he was going grocery shopping with Pan, and would probably stay over there for a while." I could tell mother was worried about everything going on.  
  
That was all I needed to know. It wasn't difficult to tell that Trunks was crazy about Pan, but even though I'm her best friend I'm not so sure what her feelings are towards him. I hope she likes him too. I would love for her to be my sister some day. And hopefuly if everything works out right, Marron will be my sister too.  
  
The world is complete.almost. I suppose the world will be complete only when Mirai is fixed and we make sure everyone is happy.  
  
Mom already gave us the instructions. Now the only thing left is to leave.  
  
I took a step forward and Goten gave me a hand to help me step into the machine. He's so thoughtful.  
  
I take my seat in the pilot seat of the time machine and he climbs in beside me.  
  
I wave to my mother through the window as Goten closes the hatch. I lean over and kiss him before setting the coordinates for the other dimension and hitting the green button. The engine runs and we soon find ourselves out of our time.  
  
*Goten*  
  
I probably should have eaten before we left, I reflected, as my stomach growled. The sweet angel sitting beside me smiled at me. I sure was thankful for the size of the machine; it was just tight enough to squeeze us together. I slid my arm around her shoulders and she rested her head against me.  
  
It's almost hard to believe that I could care so much about anyone. I always thought love didn't truly exist. With Paris, and all my other girlfriends just liking me for my appearance. Apparently girls like guys with muscle. At least Bra identifies with me about that, she always hated people liking her for her appearance too.  
  
I look out the window at the swirling colors and the seemingly endless expanse of nothingness. By the small gasp next to me I knew Bra was watching it too. It was a nice thought to know we were experiencing something so beautiful together.  
  
Then before neither of us realized it we were thrown slightly upwards before falling back in our seats.  
  
We landed. Now all we had to do was open the hatch and stare at the barren wasteland of this world. A world where everyone died of disease. A world where we would be the only inhabitants.  
  
  
  
*************************  
  
Hold on  
  
Hold on to yourself  
  
you know that only time will tell  
  
*************************  
  
*Bulma*  
  
I watch them get into the time machine. When Goten slid his arm around Bra I smiled. 2 guesses what they were doing earlier today, out in the middle of nowhere, alone together.  
  
As long as my baby is happy. I know Goten will be a good guy for her. I just wonder how Vegeta is going to handle it. Oh well, I'll worry about that later. Nowing Vegeta, he probably already knows.  
  
Now all I can do is hope they get back ok, and with everything I need. It's out of my hands now. All I can do is hope.  
  
When they get back I will get the final bit of information I need, and hopefully in time, I will finish the cure and get everyone's lives back in order. The only problem is, they probably won't get back till the morning.and that's a long time to wait. Even though it's already midnight.  
  
I'm pacing back and forth now. You know how you always tell yourself you have no control over something, but you always end up completely worried about it anyways? It's as if that bit of worrying and endless babbling about the problem will somehow speed up the results. Maybe it's true, maybe it's not.  
  
All I know is that somehow I have to get my mind off of this. I wonder if Vegeta's still awake?  
  
All right Bulma, stupid question of course he's awake. He's probably in the gravity room.  
  
Maybe he can get my mind off of this.  
  
*************************  
  
What is it in me that refuses to believe  
  
this isn't easier than the real thing  
  
My love  
  
you know that you're my best friend  
  
you know I'd do anything for you  
  
************************  
  
*Pan*  
  
It's dark outside, and the moon barely shined through the window onto the bed, illuminating several strands of lavender on my pillow. I was siting in a chair by the window, watching him sleep. No, it wasn't that he was a bed hog; I just couldn't lie next to him.  
  
Is it my fault I'm panicking? Everything just happened so fast! Jeremy's is barely even dead and I jump into bed with Trunks? With one of my best friends? With Bra's brother?  
  
Ok, so that's not exactly how it happened. I wasn't in love with Jeremy, and he wasn't in love with me.but I can't shake the feeling that I'm doing something wrong.  
  
What about Mirai? And Marron? No, I'm not in love with Mirai.the only reason he reminds me of Trunks is his looks, and sometimes his smile. But, Mirai could possibly die, my friend is in a strange situation, and I'm over here sleeping with Trunks!  
  
But Marron is a big girl, and Bulma will make sure Mirai is going to be all right. And Trunks says he loves me, I know he loves me. So why do I feel like this is wrong?  
  
Maybe it's the fact that my parents are out of town. That I'm obviously going against some rules by having a guy in the house past bedtime.  
  
Maybe it feels wrong because I'm only 17, just graduating high school, and Trunks is 25, already out of high school and heading a major company. Not to mention he is a family friend, and the richest most eligible bachelor in all of Japan. That he's dated super models, and movie stars, and has a fan club. Why would someone like him want someone like me?  
  
And despite all of this I know that I am hopelessly in love with him. I am in love with him aren't I? And I haven't even told him yet. I know age doesn't matter with love, but will my parents see it that way? I wonder if an 8 year difference will matter to them? Will any one else see it that way? Does it even matter what they think?  
  
I feel as if I have had a sudden burst of adrenaline. I want to go run and shout from the hilltops that I am in love with the greatest man on earth!  
  
So why am I sitting on a chair across from my bed watching Trunks sleep?  
  
I pull my knees closer to me and hug myself. It's really cold in here.  
  
*************************  
  
My love  
  
let nothing come between us  
  
my love for you is strong and true  
  
am I in heaven here or am I...  
  
at the crossroads I am standing  
  
*************************  
  
After the initial shock of landing and hearing no noise, save the whistle of the wind through the trees and the fact that the entire countryside was covered with buildings that were completely unoccupied, they began to make their way to Capsule Corps.or at least what was left.  
  
Once there Bra had to hold her breath. It was her home, only it was empty. The gravity room was still there, but it was a different model. Chances are the Trunks of this time line didn't destroy it nearly as often as her father did in her time.  
  
Once inside she recognized some of the furniture, but most of it was different, and the pictures on the wall were different as well. She wasn't in them, and neither were Vegeta or the Son family, save a few.  
  
Upon Goten's insistence, they found Bulma's lab and began to search for the lost information disk.  
  
"Do you think it's here?" Goten asked after a while. They had already been through the computer desk, the table, and looked under the endless piles of paper on the floor. Bra found it strangely unerving to be going through the stuff of someone she had never known. Yet all the handwriting was her mothers, and she knew that in someway.this was her mothers.  
  
"It had better be here." Responded Bra. She was not going to return home having failed. They HAD to find that disk.  
  
"Why don't you check the computer? I will check over here." Bra walked to the other side of the room and rummaged through another pile.  
  
"Bingo" Bra turned around and saw Goten displaying a disk in his hand. "She must have left it in the computer. That's probably how she overlooked putting it with the rest."  
  
Bra ran over to him and kissed his cheek. "I guess we can go now." Goten said softly.  
  
"Actually.there's one more thing we need to do." Taking the disc and slipping it in her pocket she grabbed his hand and led him outside. "First we will need to pick some flowers though."  
  
  
  
*************************  
  
So now you're sleeping peaceful  
  
I lie awake and pray  
  
that you'll be strong tomorrow and we'll  
  
see another day and we will praise it  
  
and love the light that brings a smile  
  
across your face  
  
*************************  
  
Marron listened to the slow even breathing coming from the person on the other side of the bed. He looked like an angel when he slept.  
  
She was worrying herself over nothing, right? Mirai would be fine when he got the cure.and went back to hating her. The tears welled up in her eyes again as the uncertainty of their future hit her again.  
  
With another sigh she played with the sleeve cuff of his dress shirt, that she had adorned after they made love. At first she was trying to get out of it, but without a viable excuse she ended up sleeping with him. Not that she ended up minding too terribly.in fact she greatly enjoyed the experiencce.  
  
It wasn't that big of a deal; she was 23 and not a virgin. So what was wrong with sleeping with him? Other than the fact that she was in love with him, and he normally hated her. Oh and the fact that he was terminally ill and thinking he was someone he wasn't.  
  
What was he going to think when he got his memories back? He would just add another thing to his list of reasons to dislike her. She was a slut. But she knew she wasn't. There was nothing dirty about being with the person you loved.  
  
But how did she know she truly deeply loved him? Before he suddenly thought he loved her, she hadn't had any feelings towards him other than distaste. Did she?  
  
Why had it bothered her so much in the first place that he disliked her? Normally she would just shrug it aside. So why did it bother her so much?  
  
*Because she loved him even then* Ok, maybe she didn't love him, but something about him drew her towards him. She liked him despite his faults. She liked arguing with him. She liked the feeling that came with being in his company, and the feelings scared her so much then that she would provoke more fights with him to get her mind off of it. God, she was crazy.  
  
How was it possible to love someone you barely even knew? Was it even possible to fall in love at first site? Wasn't that just a myth? Something you read about in fairy tales, and watched happen in Disney movies?  
  
"Why do I love you?" She asked him silently. "It just doesn't make sense, but I do."  
  
She softly stroked the lavender hair, and traced her finger down the side of his face.  
  
"I only wish.that you could truly love me. Not just think you do.but in days from now, weeks, months, years.that you would truly love me for me."  
  
  
  
*************************  
  
Oh god if you're out there won't you hear me  
  
I know that we've never talked before  
  
oh god the man I love is leaving won't you take him when he comes to your door  
  
*************************  
  
Trunks was slowly waking up, the awareness that he wasn't in his room was overshadowed by the awareness that he was alone in bed.  
  
He opened his eyes and saw Pans figure huddled in the corner, cradling herself as she looked at him lying there. Her eyes were dazed, as if she was confused about something.  
  
With a soft groan he sat up slowly, the sheet falling down to his lap and revealing his bare chest. He heard her gasp softly and smiled.  
  
He reached his arm out towards her and saw her eyes widen. "Come back to bed Pan," his husky voice, urged.  
  
He didn't see her hesitate as she stood up and took his hand stepping back in bed. His oversized t-shirt baggy on her slim form, she looked adorable.  
  
He slid his arm around her hip, her back to his chest, and gently kissed her neck. He could definitely get used to this.  
  
She shivered a little as his breath tickled the nape of her neck. The thick veil of sleep was covering her as she settled into the warmth offered from his body.  
  
"I love you," she whispered softly into the night air, not knowing if he heard she turned around in his arms and rested her head on his chest.  
  
"I know." He responded softly, brushing his fingers through her silky strands. "I love you too."  
  
*************************  
  
Am I in heaven here or am I in hell  
  
at the crossroads I am standing  
  
So now you're sleeping peaceful  
  
I lie awake and pray  
  
that you'll be strong tomorrow and we'll  
  
see another day and we will praise it  
  
and love the light that brings a smile  
  
across your face...  
  
*************************  
  
  
  
Bra gently knelt in front of the gravestone and lay the flowers down. Her hand traced the carved letters of her mothers name and she felt tears in her eyes. True it wasn't her real mother, but it was still the same woman. A woman whose courage and stubbornness was the reason she was alive.  
  
"Mom" she whispered softly, as Goten stood by and watched, unable to help or say anything of comfort. "Mom, I know you never met me, but I'm your daughter from the other world. I wanted to thank you for everything you've done. You would have really liked knowing Trunks, Me, Goten, Pan, Marron and everyone else. I just wanted to let you know that you are loved. And that I promise to make sure your son lives."  
  
Moving softly to the gravestone beside Bulma's, Bra traced the letters to Vegeta's name. "You two loved each other very much, and I'm sure you would have loved to be in eternal rest right next to each other. I promise you too, Daddy, that your son will live. You would have been so proud of him."  
  
Moving back she stood by Goten and gave him an encouraging smile. "Do you have anything to say?" she asked, motioning to the other gravestones nearby.  
  
Goten sighed and moved forward, laying flowers on his father's grave, his brother's grave, and his mothers' grave.  
  
"There's not much to say, except that you are all so happy in our world, and that you didn't die in vain. I promise to do everything in my power to keep your Trunks alive." Looking at his brothers' grave he sighed. "I wonder if you ever even met her in this world? Do you want me to tell you about your future wife? Your daughter? She grew up so quickly, a tomboy, you are so proud of her. I suppose you've probably been watching all of that from heaven though."  
  
Goten stood and looked at Vegeta's and Bulma's graves. "You had a wonderful daughter, and it's a shame you never met her. She is the most beautiful, kind hearted, wonderful woman I've ever met. And I should probably be leaving now before Vegeta comes back from the dead and kills me."  
  
He turned to Bra, with tears in her eyes as she smiled. "Are you ready to go?"  
  
She gave one last fleeting glance to the hill and turned nodding. His comforting grip on her hand the only thing keeping her from falling and crying.  
  
*************************  
  
Hold on  
  
hold on to yourself  
  
for this is gonna hurt like hell  
  
*************************  
  
  
  
AN) Ok, that's the end of this chapter. It's my spring break so I'll probably write the next chapter tomorrow. Sorry it's been so long, but you wouldn't believe how many finals they give you before spring break! I'll write soon, when I'm not working on my research paper.  
  
Wouldn't it be weird to go to an alternate reality and visit you parents graves? Damn, that would be freaky!  
  
I dare you to review! I double dog dare you! I triple dog dare you!!! 


	24. Good morning to you, too

AN) Ok, so I took a dare from one of my most devoted reviewers, and wrote the next chapter within a day. Aren't you proud of me?  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The sky outside the bedroom window was tinted with an orange-ish hue as it turned dawn, when Pan turned over and opened her eyes. Images from sleep still filled her mind, and a hazy contentment caused her to snuggle more deeply into the bed and let the trance of her dreams capture her again.  
  
Next to her, something stirred slightly, shifting the mattress and admitting cold air into her cocoon of blankets. Pan murmured a sleepy protest and pulled at the comforter.  
  
"Cold?" a husky voice asked.  
  
Her eyes flew open as a large warm hand slipped over her naked waist. They had made love again last night after she told him she loved him, and neither of them had enough energy to adorn clothing afterwards.  
  
"Oh my Kami!" she croaked.  
  
"Good morning to you, too."  
  
Even with her back to him, Pan could hear the smile in his voice. It soothed her momentary panic, as she allowed the night before to flash through her mind. The mutual explosion of their first coming together, the quieter but just as passionate scenes that had followed. Somewhere in the night she had lost track of their encounters...laughter, teasing, exploration, ecstasy, and a driving fear that never lost its heat. She hadn't known passion could be so sharp, or so fulfilling.  
  
"Good morning." Pan murmured in a yawn, unsure of how a woman should behave after such a wanton night. Trunks would know, he'd obviously done THAT before, so he would have to know how the women usually acted afterwards. A heat rushed into her cheeks as she realized exactly how jealous she was of the women that came before her.  
  
"How are you this morning?"  
  
She took a deep breath and closed her yes. "I'm good. I'm better than good, I'm great. I'm...uh..."  
  
A smirk formed on his lips. "Go on," he urged. His lips were close, so close. The caress of his breath brought a warm flush to her skin...her very naked...exposed...vulnerable skin.  
  
"Uh...I'm a bit embarrassed?"  
  
"Embarrassed. Hmmm." He mulled over the word as his hands drifted over her hip and thigh. "Embarrassed about this?" His caress traveled up the back of her thigh and curved over her bottom.  
  
"No..."  
  
"Or this?" His fingers danced lightly over her ribs, causing her muscles to flutter in response to the tickling sensation.  
  
"Of course not..."  
  
"Then it must be this." He pressed his lips to her shoulder, then her throat, while turning her onto her back and sliding his hand down her curves.  
  
"Don't be silly!"  
  
"This is nowhere close to being silly," he assured her warmly.  
  
Suddenly she was trapped beneath him with his elbows resting on either side of her shoulders and his knees firmly between hers. He looked down at her with irresistible eyes, and a playful grin. "I've heard that familiarity with something eliminates embarrassment. And the more you do something, the more familiar it becomes."  
  
"A likely excuse Romeo."  
  
"I don't need an excuse. I love you."  
  
The words rang chimes in Pan's heart. She looked up into clear topaz eyes with intensity, she was possessed by an impulse to say she loved him too, like she said last night, but caution won out. Some people said the word 'love' more easily than others; some were more careless with it than others, less awed by its power to hurt. Even though she lay in his arms, did she trust Trunks Briefs well enough to give him her heart?  
  
"Trunks...you are one hell of a guy."  
  
He grinned wickedly. "I am aren't I?"  
  
"One of a kind." She assured him. "The best friend a person could have."  
  
"And..." he prompted  
  
"And I feel very, very friendly toward you this morning."  
  
His eyes flickered for an instant, but the mischievous sparkly quickly recovered. He lowered himself slowly until his mouth almost touched hers.  
  
"How friendly?" he whispered.  
  
"Very friendly," she murmured back. And proceeded to prove it.  
  
Trunks was right. Embarrassment did disappear with familiarity. But Passion did not.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Mirai Trunks probably woke up a little less embarrassed then Marron did. Memories of the night before flooded their minds and left Mirai with a gentle smile across his features. He could definitely get used to living with her, and he would definitely enjoy it.  
  
Marron was thinking in a similar fashion, except she was wishing she could live with him, and would marry him. First things first though, she would have to report to Bulma about his decreasing appetite. Than she would wait for the cure and for him to be his normal self again. In the meanwhile, she would spend as much time as she could making sure he shared her feelings, that when he got his memory back he would want to give a relationship a try. Yup, she was trying her hardest to be optimistic here.  
  
After lingering in a hazy sleep as long as they could, Mirai Trunks had to get up for work, and Marron had to go 'work on the wedding arrangements.'  
  
"After all, we are finally going to be married the day after tomorrow."  
  
Marron said a silent prayer that the cure would be ready by tonight.  
  
The two went downstairs for breakfast and sat at the table. Vegeta was already there and working on his 6th helping of pancakes when they sat down. Marron watched in awe as Mirai Trunks ate only as much as she did. To think she always thought it weird when they ate 30 times her amount of food, that it was even more odd to see a Saiyan barely eat any.  
  
Marron excused herself for a moment and walked to Bulma's lab.  
  
"Bulma?" She asked, looking around for the blue haired woman.  
  
"Over here Marron." Bulma said, tinkering with the chemicals. "Bra and Goten got back a few hours ago, and I am almost done with the cure."  
  
The phone rang and Bulma cursed. "Marron, be a doll and hold this test tube in the beaker of water until the temperature reaches 47 degrees Celsius?"  
  
Bulma ran to the phone and spoke a few curt words, before rushing out of the lab and up the stairs.  
  
Marron just stood their dumfounded and held the test tube. 'I wonder what that was all about?' she thought.  
  
A moment later Bulma came back with a capsule and handed it to Marron. "Would you take this over to Pan's later?" she asked hopefully. "I won't have time."  
  
Marron nodded her head and tried to remember why she came here in the first place. Oh yeah! "Bulma, I'm worried about Mirai. He's barely eating now."  
  
Bulma sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I don't know when this will be ready, probably in a few hours, but I don't know what I'm going to tell him when I have to inject him with it."  
  
"Well." Marron started. "I'm sure you'll think of something. I'll go over to Pan's now."  
  
"Marron?" Bulma called, right before the blonde opened the door. "You do care for him a lot, don't you?" she asked.  
  
Marron looked down at her feet and smiled sadly. "I don't know how it happened, but I do."  
  
Bulma smiled encouragingly. "Don't worry. Everything will work out for the best in the end."  
  
With that Marron left hoping that what Bulma said was true, and Bulma went back to work. Only one question lingered in her mind. Why had Trunks called her and asked for some of his clothes and stuff to be brought to Pans house?  
  
***********************************************  
  
Bra got about 2 hours of sleep before the sun was too bright through her windows to let her try anymore. She and Goten had gotten back really early this morning, and it was now barely past noon. If she remembered correctly, Goten was sleeping in the guest room.  
  
Getting up and brushing her hair quickly, Bra took a second look at her appearance to make sure she looked as if she had a full nights rest, before bounding out of the room and into his guest room.  
  
Goten was just minding his business and trying to sleep when the door suddenly opened and he felt a sudden weight on his chest as something definitely landed on him.  
  
"Morning Goten." She giggled, smiling down at his stunned expression.  
  
Goten's puzzlement didn't last long and he smiled at her. "Morning Bra. What time is it?"  
  
He looked over at the clock and groaned. "Oh come on! It's only 12:30, let me sleep, just 5 more minutes?" He gave his best imitation of puppy dog eyes, but her own were already encouraging him to get up.  
  
"Pleeeeeease Goten? I want to go shopping! I'll buy you lunch!"  
  
The thought of food won out and he slowly got out of bed. "Ok Ok, I'm up."  
  
Bra stood up too and smiled. "Ok then, lets go downstairs and grab a bite to eat before we go shopping!"  
  
Goten was out of the room so fast that the drapes on the window moved as he brushed by them.  
  
Bra was left laughing as she followed him downstairs. Today would be fun!  
  
************************************************  
  
AN) I know it's a little short, but the next chapter needs to be all- together! I promise to have the chapter out soon, probably tomorrow!  
  
Ahem *announcers voice* what happens when Mirai gets his memory back? What happens when Marron goes over to Pans and finds Trunks there? What does Vegeta say when he finds out about Goten and Bra? (Hint.he already knows.just hasn't said anything.yet) When do Gohan and Videl get back from their trip?  
  
All this and more! Coming up!  
  
Ps. I know you are just dying to review! I can see it in your eyes! You are just dying to tell me what you want to see happen! I can tell! I'm psychic! Actually I'm probably just a very very hopeful person. 


	25. Huge smile. Check. Happy mood. Check. Di...

AN) It's been a while. I know! But my dad was ordering a new computer and researching stuff on the computer all the time, so I didn't have much time on it myself. Good news.I got the chapter out before a decade hit.  
  
Bad news.. it's kind of short.  
  
I promise to have the next one out soon if everyone reviews! Ok.that's asking a lot.if some of you review!  
  
***********************  
  
Marron finally moved her head out from his neck and reached down with the hand that was around his neck, to smooth her skirt and keep it from flying up. When she had asked Mirai for a ride to Pan's, she didn't expect him to pick her up then and there and take her flying. It wasn't that she was scared of heights or anything, but the sudden feeling of weightlessness startled her.  
  
Mirai was a little disappointed when she took her arm from around his shoulder to hold her skirt down. He especially missed the warmth of her face snuggling into his neck. To think.she would be his in just a few more days.  
  
When he was dumped by Pan he was pretty upset, and then Marron was there to help him. She was so sweet and caring.a true angel. Two days later after a party, she lured him to his room and seduced him. Not that he didn't appreciate it.by far it was the greatest night in his life, but at the time he wasn't sure of his feelings for her. The next day, waking up with her in his arms, he just knew; just like that. Nothing else mattered as long as they were together. He wasn't planning on marrying her so soon...but when she found out she was pregnant he pushed his plans ahead. He had no doubts now that he would be happy.and he had given her the chance to back out last night. And she didn't take it!  
  
He felt like jumping around and dancing.but decided he would save that for later. For now, he would make sure that whatever Marron wanted, she got.and whatever would make her happy, he would do for her. So this was love? This feeling he felt? It had to be.  
  
Mirai gently landed on the ground a few feet from Pan's house, and started to walk with her to the door.  
  
"Does your ankle feel better?" Mirai asked. Marron nodded her head and smiled. "Yeah, thanks."  
  
"Ok, then I'll let you go alone. Father wanted to train with me and it might be a bit uncomfortable for me to see Pan right now."  
  
Marron nodded her head and kissed his cheek. "I'll see you soon."  
  
Mirai turned and flew home.  
  
***********************  
  
Pan lay in bed as long as she could. The bed was warm and cozy, as Trunks's breath feathered through her hair. One of his hands rested warmly in the indention of her waist. When she began to move, his fingers tightened as if to hold her in bed.  
  
"Don't go," he murmured in a husky voice.  
  
"Don't you want breakfast?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Well I do."  
  
Trunks muttered an unintelligible word against his pillow and sighed. "Go back to sleep," Pan whispered; making another move to exit the bed.  
  
His grip on her waist tightened and he placed a random kiss on the back of her neck. Pan got the idea that the first place his mouth landed was the place that got kissed. Finally, his breath against her slowed and steadied; he had taken her suggestion to fall back to sleep.  
  
Trunks slept through the racket caused by Pan getting out of bed and slipping out of the room. He also slept through the racket of banging pots and other kitchenware, as well as the fresh aroma of coffee. Pan wasn't left alone to eat, however. Marron found her way in the kitchen just as Pan finished her bowl of cereal.  
  
"Good Morning!" Marron practically sang.  
  
Pan eyed her friend from the table. Huge smile. Check. Happy mood. Check. Disheveled appearance. Check. "You slept with him!" Pan said loudly.  
  
It wasn't a question, and by the quick blush the spread across Marron's cheeks she knew the answer. Oh what was Marron getting herself into? If she falls for him and he gets his memory back, she could end up heart broken.  
  
"It was sort of an accident...but I couldn't think of a logical excuse not to.and then he looked at me with those big blue eyes and I couldn't say no." the disheveled blonde explained.  
  
Pan groaned.she knew exactly the effect those big blue eyes could have on a person. It was no wonder Trunks was notorious for his effect on women.  
  
"I just don't know what I'm going to do now though." Marron started. She sat down next to Pan and sighed. The emotional turmoil was eating her up.  
  
Pan watched her friend. She went from being ecstatic one second, to miserable the next. Pan decided not to talk however, sometimes it was just best to let people vent. Mirai had taught her that, when he let her vent about Jeremy and Trunks and everything else on her mind.  
  
"It's just that now I have these feelings for him," Marron started. "I know it sounds stupid, and I know I have no reason too, but I have to wonder. Do I like him? Or do I like the person he thinks he is?"  
  
Seeing Pan's glare she quickly changed her words. "Not that I like your Trunks or anything, but it worries me that the only reason I like Mirai might be because he's not acting like himself."  
  
Marron froze and remembered Pan's glare. Then she remembered something else. "So when I came in I saw a jacket by the door...is he here?"  
  
"He who?" Pan asked. Damn, Marron was way to perceptive.  
  
"He: Trunks, that's who."  
  
Pan tilted her head towards the stairs. "Oh, yeah well he's still sleeping."  
  
"Ah! Up late last night?" Marron asked with a devilish grin. There was no way Pan could give her weird looks when she also slept with a man the night before.  
  
"Don't jump to conclusions." Pan warned.  
  
"Jump to conclusions? Hah! That nonchalant act of yours doesn't fool me, Pan Son. I've known you too long."  
  
Pan shoved her empty bowl across the table and frowned. "It's not what you think."  
  
"Trunks Briefs is in your bed, you're talking about him like he lives here, and it's not what I think?"  
  
"Trunks moved in for a while. He couldn't stay at Capsule Corps with Mirai around, and he didn't like the idea of me being out here all alone. He's a worrier."  
  
"Of course he is." Marron smiled shrewdly.  
  
"Well, he is."  
  
"And of course he couldn't sleep in the guest room. If he were worried about you then he would want to keep an eye on you all night. And what better way to know what your doing, then to be there doing it with you?"  
  
Pan threw a spoon at her. "Oh, be quiet! You're blowing the whole thing out of proportion."  
  
"No, I'm not. I know you, Pan. You're not a bed hopper. You wouldn't sleep with a guy unless you loved him. Really loved him. We're talking really really love him."  
  
Pan was silent.  
  
"Can't deny it, can you?"  
  
"I haven't thought about it." She lied.  
  
"Yeah, right." Marron said skeptically. "Unwilling to admit it to yourself is more like it."  
  
Pan gave her a look.  
  
"Don't give me that look!" Marron advised. "What's wrong with letting yourself fall in love? I think it's way cool. Trunks is a hottie, in his own way, granted he's too much of a pretty boy for me. I prefer Mirai's rugged look personally. But it's about time you had someone around who appreciates you for the fine catch that you are."  
  
"Marron! I am not a fine catch, and Trunks is not, as you put it, a hottie."  
  
A voice from the kitchen doorway startled them both. "You don't think I'm a hottie?"  
  
Pan's heart did a somersault as Trunks smiled at her. He leaned against the doorframe, filling it almost as effectively as a door. Exercise shorts and a T-shirt did absolutely nothing to hide his "hotness" Marron was right, Pan admitted. Trunks was definitely hot.  
  
Marron smirked at the stunned expression on her friends face. "I'm sure you can convince Pan how hot you are Trunks. Just keep trying. I'll see you later Pan."  
  
Marron walked to the door and reached for her car capsule. She found two and turned back. "Here Trunks, I think this is yours."  
  
She tossed the clothes capsule Bulma packed for him and left for home.  
  
Pans face heated so fast that even her vision turned a fiery embarrassed pink. When Trunks leaned down to kiss her cheek, she was sure his lips would be burned.  
  
Pan nodded her head as Marron left the house, she didn't trust herself to speak.  
  
"I like that." He tilted her face upward with one finger under her chin and grinned. "All that color in your face goes well with that red t-shirt you have on."  
  
"You're as bad as Marron," Pan muttered.  
  
"Probably worse, if truth be known. I may not be hot, but you definitely are."  
  
Marron walked away from the house hearing squeals and laughing inside. 'Hopefully someday I'll have something like that." she thought. "For real." she added as an afterthought.  
  
  
  
  
  
AN) Ok.. the end for now. Next chapter: Bulma gives Mirai the cure. They wait to see how long it will take. Chapter after that: Mirai lets us know a secret. They find out the secret. Chapter after that: Marron and Pan freak out about something.. Bra tries to help.  
  
Want to review? Yes you do! Good reviewer! Just click that button down there and tell me what you want Mirai to do when he gets his memory back. I've got two ideas.but I'm not sure which one I'm going to use yet.  
  
  
  
E-mail me if you want updates for each chapter. E-mail me at Imaginativeone1@aol.com. No junk mail! I will just send an update next time I post a chapter. Also feel free to e-mail me with comments or suggestions. My ears are always open!  
  
Want a promise? When I get a 300th review, I will get the next chapter out within 24 hours.  
  
HAPPY EASTER!!!!!!!!!! 


	26. That woman better be right about this

Marron drove up to the dome-shaped Briefs' residence after delivering a clothes capsule to Trunks for his mother, and she proceeded to go inside with out knocking. She was practicaly family after all! She briefly heared the low humming of the Gravity room as she entereds the house. Glancing around cautiously to make sure Mirai wasn't nearby, she darted off towards Bulma's lab.  
  
Her emotions were acting like a yo-yo. One moment she'd be happy to have every chance with Mirai, another, she'd dread seeing him because it would only make her more attached He'd have his memory back soon, tonight probably, and then it would be "bye bye relationship." But even then, at least she would have last night to remember it all by.  
  
She saw Bulma sitting by the phone with an injection needle filled with a pinkish medicine in one hand, while the other impatiently strummed its fingers over the surface of the table.  
  
"What are you waiting for?" Marron asked, visibly noticing that she startled the blue-haired genius.  
  
"Oh, hello Marron. You took the capsule over to Pan's?"  
  
Marron nodded her head, waiting to see if Bulma would answer her previous question.  
  
"What was Trunks doing there?" Bulma asked. 'Nope, she didn't answer it' Marron thought.  
  
"Oh.he's uhm." Marron struggled. What if they didn't want their relationship known yet? Then again they didn't tell her not to tell anyone. Besides.if Trunks called his mother in the first place, he must realize that she would find out eventually. "I think he's staying there for a while."  
  
Bulma laughed. "I can't wait to see what Gohan and Videl are going to do when they get back in 2 days. First we have to tell them about Mirai and everything, and that it would be you're and Mirai's wedding day.then about my son and their daughter...then about Gohan's brother and Bra."  
  
"Goten and Bra?" Marron asked. No wonder Bra hadn't been around lately.  
  
"Yeah, only I haven't told Vegeta yet. I was just going to wait for him to find out. They aren't trying to hide it or anything.he probably already knows."  
  
"Dende, I hope not." A familiar voice spoke from the doorway. The two women looked over to see Goten standing in the doorway.  
  
"Hey Goten. What's up?" Marron asked.  
  
"Bra was just putting some stuff up. Why didn't you warn me to never go shopping with her? I thought all those stories from Pan were just exaggerations!!!"  
  
Marron laughed, and so did a rich feminine voice belonging to the figure that was now standing by Goten's side.  
  
"It wasn't that bad, was it?" Bra asked him.  
  
Goten just smiled sheepishly.  
  
"Whatcha doin' mom?" Bra asked, noticing that her mother was again looking at the phone.  
  
"Huh?" Bulma looked up. "Oh.just waiting for your father to call. Marron, you need to stay here you're plan B."  
  
"Plan B?" Marron asked. "What's Plan A, and what are the plans for?"  
  
Bra's eyes widened. "Does 'plan A' have anything to do with Vegeta killing Mirai?"  
  
"What?" Marron and Goten asked.  
  
"No." Bulma intruded. "The plan is for Mirai to be unconscious so I can inject him with the cure so that hopefully it will kick in and he'll be better by the morning so you," she points to Marron, "don't end up walking down the isle."  
  
"So Vegeta's going to knock him unconscious under the guise of sparring?" Bra asked.  
  
"He doesn't need an excuse, he would knock his opponent unconscious anyways." Goten said with a shudder. Kami he hoped Vegeta wouldn't mind his relationship with Bra toooo badly.  
  
"Why didn't you just tell him it was a flu shot or something, and inject him while he's awake?" Marron asked.  
  
Bra and Goten looked at Bulma for an answer too.  
  
"Well it turns out that unlike our Trunks, Mirai takes after Goku, Pan, and Goten. He hates needles." Bulma frowned.  
  
Bra looked up at Goten and noticed that he was a bit more pale than usual, since eying the needle in her mother's hand.  
  
"Well why am I the back up plan? How would I get him to pass out?"  
  
Marron immediately blushed and shut up when she saw Goten and Bra snickering at the obvious innuendo. She was NOT going to do THAT to have him pass out.  
  
Ignoring the fact that her daughter was laughing Bulma answered, "you're going to get him drunk enough to pass out."  
  
Goten and Bra looked up with puppy-dog eyes and asked if they could "please help?"  
  
Marron frowned; she didn't like that idea for several reasons.  
  
A drunk Saiyan is never a pleasant sight.  
  
A drunk Saiyan that thinks he's engaged to you is definitely not a good idea.  
  
And. "Bulma wouldn't the alcohol effect his blood and the effects of the medicine?"  
  
Bulma frowned. "Let's just hope Veggie doesn't have a sudden conscience attack before he knocks Mirai over the head."  
  
At that Bra, Goten, and Marron broke out laughing. 'Veggie'?  
  
**********************  
  
Mirai Trunks dodged another kick from his father barely in time, catching it with his left hand he twisted his wrist and with it, his father's ankle. 'Dad is being especially viscous today.'  
  
Vegeta cursed in his mid and gave the boy a punch in the gut. 'Ok.so I knock him out and the woman gives him the shot.'  
  
Vegeta moved his other arm to punch him in the face when Trunks ducked and gave Vegeta a swift kick to try and swipe his legs out from underneath him.  
  
Jumping quickly, Vegeta dodged Trunks's kick and landed a blow to his head. Mirai flew across the room and landed in a heap on the other side.  
  
'Finally' Vegeta thought. 'That was almost a challenge.'  
  
Walking over and slinging Mirai's arm around his shoulder he began to drag his son out of the room. He knew he was supposed to call the woman to come over and inject him right away.but he, in probably the only moment of compassion in his life, decided to take him to the lab first, so he could be put in to a regeneration tank soon.  
  
'That woman better be right about this.'  
  
**********************  
  
  
  
The occupants of the room turned around with stunned looks on their face as Vegeta half-dragged half-carried an unconscious Mirai Trunks into the room and sat him in a swivel chair. He looked up at them and grunted, motioning Bulma to go ahead and inject him.  
  
Bulma picked up the needle and walked to her motionless son. A motherly instinct told her that it was for the best; at least he couldn't feel it while he slept. Turning to ask a question, she realized she didn't have to. Marron was already there, swiping a patch of skin on his arm with an alcohol swab.  
  
Bulma lifted the needle and gently injected him with the cure. They were all holding their breaths, just hoping. 


End file.
